


Fluttering Petals

by amaxingbaek



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - Office, F/F, F/M, Fem!Kyungsoo, Genderbending, Genderswap, fem!Minseok, fem!Yixing, fem!joonmyun, fem!luhan - Freeform, fem!suho, fem!xiumin, unwarned for relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-05-06 15:20:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 25,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5422010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amaxingbaek/pseuds/amaxingbaek
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Minseok learns what it feels like to love and be loved through the language of flowers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fluttering Petals

**Author's Note:**

> Title: Fluttering Petals  
> Pairing(s): girl!Minseok/girl!Yixing, best friends Jongin/girl!Luhan/girl!Minseok, one-sided Chanyeol/girl!Minseok, others (no spoilers here)  
> Rating: PG-13  
> Word count: ~25.5k  
> Warning(s): mentions of sex, Luhan, very brief mention of Yifan  
> Author’s Note: I just want to thank my amazing beta cairistiona for dealing with me for the last few months, especially the last few days – you’re the best and sorry if I annoyed you! Originally written for girlexochange.

"Minseok~"

"Yes, Luhan?"

The other girl giggles. "Nothing, just came over to tell you that you look really nice today."

"Are you implying that I don't look nice every day?" Minseok asks without batting an eye, double-checking that everything on Chanyeol’s schedule for the day is accounted for.

Luhan gasps, looking completely scandalized that she would even ask such a thing. "Of course not! It's just that your ass looks particularly great today, is all."

Minseok sends her an amused glance. "I would say thank you, but I didn't get dressed this morning with that in mind, so that wouldn't be necessary."

"Are you sure about that? Aren't you going to go see Yixing today?" Luhan asks, wiggling her eyebrows in a way that makes her usually cherubic face look demented.

"Maybe, maybe not," Minseok replies, but the blush that quickly rises to her cheeks says otherwise. Luhan squeals, practically draping herself over Minseok's desk to get closer to her friend.

"Aren't you just the cutest thing?" Luhan coos, staring at Minseok like she's a tiny kitten in a sweater.

"Shut up," Minseok snaps, but there's no real bite to it. "And stand up straight. People can look up your skirt with how you're lying."

In her defense, Luhan doesn't even look bothered by that fact, but she gets up and smoothes her skirt down anyways. "Happy now?" she asks.

"Well you're still here, so not really, but I feel better knowing that some poor unsuspecting worker won't be seeing your butt cheeks hanging out today."

Luhan sniffs. "I'll have you know that I'm wearing regular underwear today."

"Good to know," Minseok deadpans. Not for the first time, she wonders why Luhan has the propensity to bother _her_ the most, but she supposes that the honey blonde can be a nice companion sometimes.

"I'm sure you were just dying to know that piece of information, you secret-not-so-secret-lesbian, you," Luhan proclaims. Minseok just rolls her eyes, all too used to Luhan's candid personality. It's not like she minds, anyways - she's not ashamed of liking the same gender, but at the same time, she's not one of those girls that go to parades or are overly open with it. She's just a simple person who, according to Luhan, isn't very secretive if the plethora of Girls' Generation and Girl's Day pictures on her phone are anything to go by. Sue Minseok for appreciating a beautiful person when she sees one, and it just so happening that most of the ones she finds attractive are female.

"It still doesn't mean that I want to know about _your_ choices, best friend or not," Minseok says, scrunching her nose up in distaste.

Luhan gasps. "I'm your best friend?" she wonders, fluttering her lashes in what Minseok assumes is supposed to be a cute fashion. If anything, Minseok just wants to laugh.

Raising an eyebrow, Minseok looks her friend up and down. "Isn't that what you're always insisting? Shouldn't you be bouncing off the walls that I actually said it willingly?"

"Of course!" Luhan cries, looking upset Minseok would think otherwise, but mostly looking overjoyed with the turn of events. "I knew you couldn't resist my charms for long."

Minseok just smiles fondly. "How did I even last this long?" she asks in mock wonder, tapping her chin in thought.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Luhan says, sending a wink in Minseok's direction.

The slightly older girl just laughs. "Go back to work, Luhan."

"Love you!" the other girl calls out.

"Love you, too.” Minseok shakes her head when the blonde is gone, but there's a smile on her face.

"Silly girl," she mumbles to herself before going back to work. Organizing Chanyeol's schedule isn't going to finish itself, so without wasting another second, she picks up the phone.

"Yes, Mr. Cho? I’m just calling to confirm..."

~✿~✿~✿~

When Minseok walks into the florist’s that day, the bell above her head ringing as a greeting, she's met with the sight of a new face. The girl is behind a workbench creating an arrangement, but that's as far as Minseok's knowledge stretches. Even after coming to this shop for two months, eight meetings in total, she still can't put names to flowers no matter how many times Yixing tells her about them. It's not her fault that she would rather pay attention to more interesting things - like the way Yixing's eyes light up when she explains the meaning behind a particular flower, or the history behind it, or why there are different meanings for different colors. She just looks so _alive_ that Minseok can't help but give another piece of her heart away.

The girl looks up then, her impossibly wide eyes staring right into Minseok's soul. Minseok shudders, wondering why she feels put on display all of a sudden considering she's wearing black slacks and a white long-sleeved shirt. Despite feeling as if the air has dropped about ten degrees, Minseok walks over.

"Is Yixing here today?" she asks, having caught no sight of the other girl.

The other employee opens her mouth, but gets cut off by said girl walking out from the back. Her eyes widen upon seeing Minseok standing there, but she smiles immediately and there goes Minseok's heart again, fluttering away like the higher-than-average pace is completely normal (it is when Yixing is around, but no one needs to know that).

"Hey," Yixing greets.

"Hi," Minseok mumbles, shyly looking down, half because she still hasn't mastered looking at Yixing when she's smiling and half because the other employee’s gaze gets darker, if possible.

Thankfully, Yixing steers her towards the other end of the shop where the already-made arrangements are sitting behind sliding glass doors. "What are you looking for today?" Yixing asks.

"Nothing in particular. Just surprise me," Minseok says, smiling when Yixing lights up like a Christmas tree. She slides the door open, a blast of cold air attacking Minseok immediately. She shivers, still not used to the drastic temperature difference, wondering, not for the first time, how Yixing can easily go in with just a t-shirt and jeans on.

All of a sudden, Minseok can feel someone staring at her, a burning sensation right between her shoulder blades that's impossible to ignore. She glances back only to freeze in place. The other employee is glaring at her, angrily snipping at a flower and ripping off leaves as she makes it look perfect and presentable. A shiver runs through Minseok's whole body and she almost jumps when she feels a hand on her arm.

Yixing's face looks concerned when Minseok turns around, but then she looks over Minseok's shoulder. Her face softens in understanding immediately, mixed with just a twinge of amusement.

"Don't mind Kyungsoo. She's a great person despite her face." Yixing laughs and it's the prettiest thing Minseok's ever heard.

"If you say so," Minseok says skeptically, still wondering whether the girl - Kyungsoo - should be legally allowed to use scissors when there are other people in the vicinity.

"I promise. She's just very protective over people that she likes. She acts like the unnie, even though I'm the older one."

Minseok hums noncommittally. She's just going to have to watch out for Kyungsoo when she comes over from now on. If Yixing says she's nice, though, then Minseok is willing to be more friendly, since the other girl sure doesn't seem like she will take the first step. Yixing seems like the type of person that would only surround herself with angels. Minseok only hopes that she can be one of those people one day.

"What are those?" Minseok asks once they reach the counter, belatedly remembering that she's buying flowers.

Yixing's smile is shy. The flowers in her hand are a vibrant violet in the shape of a bowl, layers upon layers of petals surrounding a more pronounced middle.

"It's kind of an ugly name for a pretty flower, but they're called Ranunculus. They symbolize radiant charm and attractiveness." Yixing tries to busy herself with ringing up Minseok's purchase, but the latter can still see the faint dusting of pink high on her cheekbones.

A large smile curves the corner of Minseok's lips up and the fluttering in her chest is back full-force. She doesn't say a word, just observes Yixing and the way her eyes flicker about, the way she licks her lips, the way her eyelashes flutter when she blinks. It's very endearing and she knows she'll never get tired of learning about Yixing and her quirks.

Minseok wordlessly hands her credit card over when Yixing tells her the total and not long after, she has an arm full of flowers, the vase cold against her warm skin.

"Thank you," Minseok says politely before turning to leave. Right before she walks out the door, though, she turns and calls out to the other girl. Yixing looks at her so quickly that Minseok almost fears that she's broken her neck, but she looks fine.

"I think you're attractive, too." And with that, she leaves, cheeks ablaze at her sudden confidence, but she doesn't regret it, not with the way that Yixing's jaw had dropped open and her eyes had widened.

"Cute," she says to herself once she's turned her car on, having placed the vase on the floor on the passenger side beforehand.

Traffic isn't all too bad and Minseok makes it home in five minutes. By now, she's mastered the art of opening her apartment door with a face full of flowers, the key slipping in the lock easily. Gently, as to make sure that she won't have a floor full of water, she places the vase on her coffee table. They stand out significantly against the pastel colors of her apartment. She's not one of those people that live in monochrome, per se, but she certainly doesn't live as if a unicorn just threw up rainbows all over her walls.

Before she does anything else, she takes the prettiest flower she can find from the vase, always believing that the prettier it is, the longer it will last, especially since it's not just a flower to her, but a physical projection of her emotions. Minseok only feels a little bit bad about practically killing something so beautiful, but the knowledge that it will be with her in the future softens the blow. After dabbing it with a towel to make it as dry as possible, she takes out her microwave presser from her kitchen drawers. The process is familiar, Minseok easily putting the cardboard and paper on one side of the press followed by the flower and another piece of cardboard and paper. One quick minute in the microwave later and Minseok has the perfect pressed flower.

Minseok runs her hands over the spines of books in her bookcase, plucking one out once she finds what she's looking for. It's no bigger than a regular hardback, with a simple black cover, a little white rose stitched in the middle. Minseok opens it carefully, mindful of all the other flowers that are already in there. She neatly prints the name and meaning of the flower at the bottom of the page, along with the date. She knows that memories won't last forever; she's just helping her future self out, hoping that it will trigger something decades down the road. She doesn't ever want to forget this feeling (although it's so strong, she doubts it will, but better safe than sorry).

The rest of her night is bleak in comparison to her visit with Yixing. She throws a freezer dinner into the microwave and watches television while she eats, reads a bit of her book, checks her emails, and finally clambers into bed.

It's always quiet in her apartment, seeing as she's the only one living in it, but not for the first time, she wishes that she had someone to share the space with. A certain someone pops into her mind, all cheery smiles and bright eyes, and that's the last thing she thinks of before sleep claims her.

~✿~✿~✿~

Luhan flounces over to Minseok's desk the next day. "How is my little lover bun doing?"

Minseok rolls her eyes at the nickname. "If I knew who you were talking about, maybe I could tell you."

"Don't be that way," Luhan whines, throwing her arms around Minseok's shoulders from behind. Minseok is so used to it that it doesn't even distract her anymore and she keeps typing away.

"I still have no idea about what you're referring to."

"Unnie!" Luhan whines and that effectively causes Minseok to freeze. The blonde must have noticed the reaction, for she repeats it again, more petulant and devious than the last.

"Oh," Luhan suddenly says, sounding very much like she's figured out the answer to something incredibly important. "You have a thing for being called 'unnie'?"

Minseok is about to deny it, but Luhan is chanting "Unnie, unnie, unnie!" while laughing. It takes all she has not to ram her elbow back and jab Luhan in the ribs.

"Zip your lips, would you?" she hisses, face aflame with some of the looks thrown in their direction. A large part of her wonders how their co-workers weren't used to Luhan's antics by now, but the thought is gone just as quickly as it had come.

The blonde swirls her chair around, wiggling her eyebrows. "I bet I know where you want your lips to be." The cry of indignation that Minseok lets out has Luhan bursting with giggles, dancing out of reach just in time before the brunette can get her hands on her.

"What's going on over here?" Minseok deflates in relief when she sees Jongin poking his head out from his cubicle.

"I was just informing Minseok about ho-"

"How much I am going to kick her ass if she says another word," Minseok threatens. The other girl closes her mouth immediately, having been on the receiving end of that before.

Jongin looks amused as he walks over, propping his hip on the side of Minseok's desk. His midnight blue button-up molds against his body nicely, his toned biceps showcased through the flimsy fabric once he crosses his arms. If Minseok were attracted to men, she doesn’t doubt that Jongin would be part of her fantasies and desires.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," he says.

"You're too nice to get anywhere near there, unlike this one over here." Minseok jabs her thumb in Luhan's direction, said girl now inching her way back towards the brunette.

Minseok feels arms around her shoulders and she's about to cause bodily harm when someone calls out her name.

"Good morning, Minseok," their boss, Chanyeol, greets in that deep voice of his. Chanyeol looks slightly surprised to see the other two there, but recovers easily enough, sending them greetings and a smile before continuing to his office.

"You know, I'm surprised that he still hasn't figured out that you play for the same team," Luhan comments, her head now on top of Minseok's. It feels weird, her chin digging into the top of Minseok's head, but Minseok just lets it go, knowing that Luhan will just resume the position if she tries to move her.

"Wait, he likes you?" Jongin looks adorably confused as he stares at Minseok, then towards Chanyeol's door, and back again.

Minseok rolls her eyes. "That's what Luhan keeps insisting. I just think he's being friendly."

"No, he's definitely harboring a crush. On a scale from one to obvious, he might as well be walking around with a billboard sign saying 'Minseok is my fluffy boo boo cuddle pants'," Luhan says. Minseok peers up at her in disgust, not even caring that Luhan barely manages to catch herself before plummeting face first into the chair.

"Did you really just..." It's so disturbing that Minseok can't even bring herself to say it.

Luhan actually looks proud as she nods. Minseok looks over at Jongin and sees that he's in the same boat that she's in.

"Jongin," she stage-whispers. "I think that we should run before her crazy rubs off on us."

"Hey!" Luhan cries at the same time that Jongin says, "Good plan."

"You're the worst." Luhan pouts.

"We know," they chime, grinning at each other.

"No, but seriously," Luhan says, a faraway look in her eyes, "I would jump him in a heartbeat. Can you imagine that voice in bed? Hot damn."

Minseok can at least admit that much - Chanyeol's voice was probably the epitome of every girl's (and probably some boy's) wet dreams back in the day. She's not stupid, knows how attractive a voice like that is, but Minseok much prefers tinkling laughter and cute tones over baritone chuckles and low timbres, which she tells Luhan.

"I don't like men, either, so I can't really contribute to this conversation," Jongin adds in.

Luhan rolls her eyes. "You guys don't know what you're missing out on."

"And you do?" Minseok raises her eyebrows, looking her friend over as if she's honestly seeing her for the first time.

"No!" Luhan squeaks, waving her hands frantically. "I'm just saying that, you know, his voice is nice to listen to, and that I wouldn't-"

Jongin puts a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Just stop there before your rambling gets you in trouble." He looks understanding, but there's a tiny smirk on his face that doesn't go unnoticed by Minseok or Luhan.

"Why do both of you hate me?" Luhan cries, throwing in a sniffle for good measure. Neither Jongin nor Minseok buy it.

"It's kind of fun, don't you think, Jongin?"

Jongin nods. "It makes my day just a little bit brighter."

Huffing, Luhan sticks her nose in the air before leaving, but not before grumbling, "Friends. Why do people even bother with them?"

Minseok and Jongin are both in fits of laughter, the latter breaking out of it first. "I should probably go find her to make sure she doesn't throw a coffee maker at someone."

Still chuckling slightly, Minseok nods her assent. "I'll find you at lunch."

Jongin sends her a smile. "Alright, see you later."

Before Minseok gets back to the piles of paper on her desk, she shoots Luhan a quick text message: _Don't be sad, my love._

All she gets in response is a heart eyes emoji, but it's enough for her to know that all is forgiven (not like she was worried in the first place). Minseok opens the first of many folders of the day with a sigh, preparing herself for the ache she will feel in her fingers and back later.

~✿~✿~✿~

The first time Minseok had stumbled into the floral shop was an accident. It had been a regular day, but Minseok had felt a little out of it for reasons she couldn't figure out. Her tasks that day weren't any harder than usual, so it just didn't make sense. Whatever it was had stuck with her the entire day, though.

She walked down the street to enjoy the fresh air, having randomly decided that morning that she would take the bus instead of her car like usual. The clacking of her heels was barely noticeable over engines purring and the busy bustle of people trying to get home as quickly as possible. The smell of street food was strong in the air, but Minseok caught a whiff of something sweet, more delicate, inexplicably drawn towards it like a fanboy towards an SNSD album.

She was met with the tinkling of a bell when she pulled the door open a little wider to walk inside and an onslaught of what might as well have been heaven. The shop looked beautiful, everything organized in a perfect display. Flowers were arranged in pots, in bouquets, in baskets, you name it. There was such an assortment of colors that Minseok almost felt blinded by it all.

"May I help you?"

Startled, Minseok whipped around, almost stumbling in her haste to not be rude by keeping her back to someone, only to barely prevent herself from falling forward when she noticed just how _pretty_ the worker was. Her soft voice matched her face, all smooth edges and small features and Minseok had this indescribable urge to cup the girl's cheeks to see if her skin was a soft as it looked.

"I..." Minseok didn't know how to respond. Not only was there a gorgeous girl in front of her, but she didn’t even know why she came into the shop in the first place. She frantically tried to think of an excuse, blurting out the first thing that she could think of. "I need flowers for my house."

In retrospect, it could've been much worse, something along the lines of how wonderful the girl looked, even going as far as comparing her to a delicate flower that was in bloom, her beauty so radiant that even the sun couldn't compare. It was a good thing Minseok had at least _some_ shred of self control. Maybe.

The worker flashed her a bright smile. Minseok wanted to cry - she had a _dimple_ for Christ's sake. How unfair could the world get?

"Anything specific?" the girl asked.

Minseok was floundering again. Only she would go into a florist's and have absolutely _no_ knowledge about anything. She blurted out the first thing she could think of, a bad habit she could already feel forming. "Sunflowers? Those are colorful...right?"

The girl giggled and Minseok was seconds away from walking out the door, never to look back, before she said something stupid to this angel in front of her. She just clamped down on her lip to keep quiet, already knowing that she wouldn't be able to walk away now or stay away in the future.

"Every flower is colorful in its own way, but yes, sunflowers are pretty bright." She waved Minseok to follow her as she walked to the sliding glass doors, the noise from Minseok's heels loud in comparison to the serene atmosphere inside the shop. Every clack had her wincing and she desperately hoped that the worker didn't mind. She breathed out a sigh of relief once they came to a stop.

"It's going to be cold once I open the door," the girl commented. Minseok thought that the girl was making fun of her slightly. Minseok almost missed the way her lips twitched up quickly as if fighting a smile, but she saw it and all doubt about the girl poking fun at her lack of knowledge flew out the window along with her heart and her mind and her ability to think anything other than that this girl had a cute sense of humor to go with her cute everything and that she had to be perfect. It was the only explanation, really.

Minseok barely remembered that the other girl asked something and was probably waiting for a response, so she nodded quickly, her wavy brown hair practically flying everywhere. Giggling, the girl stepped through the threshold. Minseok barely repressed the urge to smack herself in the face for being so incredibly lame.

"Is this one okay?"

Minseok took one glance at it - just a plain arrangement with sunflowers spilling from an off-white pot - and nodded. It's not like she knew what was good and what wasn’t, but she assumed that they wouldn't put it out if it sucked. Plus, the angel personally picked it out for her, so there was no way she would be stupid enough to reject it.

With a beam, the girl walked back to the counter, Minseok following her like a lost puppy that wanted attention from its owner. She suddenly realized that she had no idea what the girl's name was and practically stumbled on her way to get to the counter as quickly as possible to peek at her name tag.

Unfortunately, she wasn't wearing one. Minseok must have been pathetically looking at the space on her shirt where it should have been, for the girl spoke up. "Yixing."

"What?" Minseok asked dumbly, eyes snapping up to look at her face. It was then that she realized that she was technically looking at the girl's boobs and flushed in mortification. The angel probably thought that she was a creep. Minseok wanted to whine in desperation because the world seemed to be working against her all of a sudden.

"My name. It's Yixing." The girl - Yixing - flashed another smile. Minseok felt weak in the knees.

 _Pretty name for a pretty girl_ , she thought. Minseok just wanted to find something about this girl that she _didn't_ adore because at that point, she was internally weeping about how unfair the world was. Maybe Yixing was so amazing because she had an overabundance of nice that assholes had given up. To her muddled brain, Minseok thought that it made perfect sense.

"Thank you," Yixing said. Minseok wondered what she was thanking her for - if anything, Minseok should be thanking her for even existing - but promptly felt the overwhelming need to slink away and hide under her covers forever. She couldn't _believe_ that she just said that out loud.

"What is your name?" Yixing asked, not looking bothered that a stranger just called her pretty at all.

"Minseok," she managed to get out, looking down in embarrassment. If she couldn’t even say her own name, she shuddered to think about how she would do with a real conversation.

"Pretty name for a pretty girl."

Minseok's head whipped up disturbingly fast. Yixing was busy ringing up the order, but there was a tiny smile on her face. Minseok suddenly felt hot all over, the heat on her cheeks radiating out and surrounding her in her own personal heater.

She didn't even have time to think about what that sentence meant before Yixing was telling her the amount due. Numbly, she just handed her card over, mind still whirring with what she _wanted_ to think and what she refused to think.

"Here's your receipt." Yixing's voice broke her out of her trance. Minseok scribbled her signature before practically rushing out. She only managed a smile and a, "See you around," before she couldn't take how cute Yixing was and fled.

The pot was heavier than she thought and she had to struggle to carry it the rest of the way home without dropping it, but it was nothing compared to how heavy her heart was with the beat of Yixing's name or how heavy her mind was with the thought that she definitely wanted to see Yixing for a long, long time.

~✿~✿~✿~

Minseok hears a wolf whistle as she walks to her desk on Friday.

"Damn, girl. You look smoking today."

Minseok just rolls her eyes. "You say that almost everyday, Luhan."

The blonde flounces up to her. How easily she does that in heels, Minseok will never understand. She can barely briskly walk in heels and she's been wearing them for almost three years.

Luhan pouts up at her. "But you do look good everyday. Right, Jongin?" she hollers.

"Right!" he responds from his own cubicle, but he doesn't bother to get up and actually see what Minseok is wearing. She rolls her eyes. Leave it to Jongin to just agree with whatever Luhan says. He probably doesn't even know what he’s agreeing to.

"See? I'm always right."

"You don't think it's too much?" Minseok fidgets, attempting to pull her shorts down slightly.

"Are you kidding me?" Luhan screeches. "This is the hottest you've looked in years, seriously. I didn't even know you had those kinds of clothes in your closet."

Minseok doesn't mention that she put the outfit together with Yixing in mind and that she actually had to go out and buy the shirt. In her defense, though, she was already at the mall, happened to see the shirt, and couldn't stay away. It had just looked so pretty, albeit something that Minseok rarely ever wore. She's not a fan of shirts with holes, considering one is pretty much paying for more air than fabric, but she had loved the way the white long-sleeve flared out at the waist. There was also the fact that it was a button-up as well, the thicker white collar that merged into line going down the middle barely noticeable, and it was the easiest purchase she had ever made (she’s a sucker for button-ups). Besides, it’s more for her than for Yixing - she thinks she looks damn good in it. The fact that she’s going to see Yixing today is just a bonus.

"It's really just the shirt..." Minseok says, but Luhan doesn't look convinced.

"Yixing would have to be blind to not have at least _some_ dirty thoughts with you in that. Or out of it, I suppose." Luhan casts an appreciative look at her bare legs, her white shorts barely covering her butt, but still longer than her shirt.

Swatting at Luhan, Minseok tries to scurry to her desk, now completely embarrassed. "I knew this wasn't going to be a good idea."

"Shut up, you look amazing. If she doesn't think you look hot, then she has to at least think you look like an angel since you're in white from head to toe."

Now it’s Minseok’s turn to roll her eyes. "You can borrow my shoes whenever you want."

Luhan squeals in excitement and it's perhaps the highest pitch Minseok has ever heard her reach. "You're the best! The things I could do with those pumps..."

"Yeah, yeah, getting the boys and whatnot." It's not the first time that Minseok has heard about Luhan's "plans" and she's sure it's not the last. It's her duty as a best friend to listen, though, and she doesn't admit it out loud often (almost never), but Luhan is actually really amusing (when she’s not being annoying, which is ninety-six percent of the time). Minseok likes to listen to her talk just because it's Luhan and you never know what you're going to get - if it was anyone else, she wouldn't even bother. They have a weird relationship, and half of the time Minseok wonders if Luhan is honestly hitting on her, but she wouldn't trade it for anything.

"Oh, I have the perfect dress. Should I go for innocent makeup or dark, sexy, and wild..." Luhan trails off with a frown. Suddenly, she turns to Minseok, but before Luhan can say anything, the brunette puts a hand up.

"I'm not going clubbing with you."

"You're no fun!" Luhan stomps her foot petulantly.

"Take Jongin or something. He would probably have a better time," Minseok says, faintly recalling Jongin telling her about his passion for dance.

Luhan lights up, pecks Minseok on the cheek, and then she's gone. Minseok prays for Jongin's soul.

~✿~✿~✿~

Like every week, the bell signals Minseok's entrance into the shop. She had spent about five minutes in her car giving herself a pep talk. After freaking out on Luhan before leaving about how her shorts were too short _(oh God, Luhan, she's going to think I'm a slut, I need to go change, I can't do this)_ , and promptly getting smacked on the back of the head by said girl _(you idiot, I already told you how great you looked. Now go get some pussy!)_ , she felt more confident. It was confidence that went down the drain as soon as she parked and it took a few deep breaths, but she’s made it.

Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how one looks at it), Yixing isn't behind the counter today, but another girl, one that she knows and doesn't fear for her life around.

"Hey Joonmyun."

Said girl looks up from her current arrangement, her messy ponytail falling apart slightly, some chocolate strands slipping free to frame her face. Minseok doesn't think it looks bad, quite the opposite. Minseok is slightly envious - she's never been able to pull off that kind of look.

Joonmyun opens her mouth to say something, but stops. Her eyes grow wide and she gives Minseok a once-over that has self-doubt swallowing Minseok whole.

"You look amazing!" Joonmyun blurts out, still openly staring. Joonmyun is a nice girl, so Minseok doesn't take it as lecherous as she might under other circumstances.

"Oh! Th-thank you." Minseok scratches the back of her head, pleased yet embarrassed by the compliment.

"I wish I could look half as good as you in something like that," Joonmyun muses.

"It might not be for you," Minseok says, hoping that it doesn't come across as rude. "Everyone has something they look great in and things they…don’t.”

"True. I'll just have to stick to my shorts and sweater combo.”

Minseok can picture it easily - dainty Joonmyun dwarfed in a sweater that’s slightly too large, the front portion tucked in her shorts to show that she’s actually wearing some form of pants. “That sounds really cute! I’ll have to see it some day.” Minseok sends her a smile, one that is easily replicated.

“Sure, maybe the rest of us girls can get together some time. You could bring your friends, too,” Joonmyun says and she actually looks interested, not saying it just for the sake of being genial and getting Minseok out of her hair.

“Cool, I’ll definitely ask them later. For now, though, is Yixing here?” Minseok enquires, hoping that she’s not being too obvious. But she’s here to see Yixing (and have Yixing see her) so she would rather get it done with now while she’s in a good mood before she spirals down the self-conscious road again.

Joonmyun’s eyes light up and soon enough, her lips are curled up at the corners in a sly manner. “Oh,” is all she says, but she sounds too smug for Minseok’s liking.

“What?” she asks defensively, tugging at the hem of her shirt.

“Nothing.” Before Minseok can cry that it’s definitely _not_ nothing, the other girl is bouncing off towards the back room, leaving Minseok alone and wondering if it’s too late to bolt. The door is pretty close and if she makes a break for it, there’s a chance that she can make it out before Yixing comes out.

Her plans crumble miserably like a cookie in milk when a soft voice calls out her name in question. Slowly, so slowly that she could rival a snail, she turns, hoping the smile on her face doesn’t look as stiff as it feels.

Yixing looks as amazing as ever, her auburn hair in slight waves today. It’s ridiculous, but Minseok thinks that Yixing looks better than she normally does, even though she’s just in a pair of black skinny jeans and a white polo shirt, her off-gold name tag glinting in the light.

Before Minseok can utter a word (because those are needed for a conversation to take place), Yixing’s eyes enlarge, her cheeks turning red rapidly. Minseok is about to ask if she’s okay, since that shade of scarlet can’t be normal, but Yixing beats her to it.

“I- you- let me- oh my gosh,” Yixing gets out. She then abruptly turns and scurries to the back room. Minseok deflates as quickly as a popped hot air balloon. She just _knew_ that the outfit was a bad idea. In her defense, though, she really did feel amazing in it and she had honestly thought that Yixing was interested. Minseok doesn’t know about other people, but when someone twirls their hair while talking to someone else, that indicates interest. Not to mention that every time Minseok has asked Yixing to pick out flowers for her, they had beautiful meanings, such as elegance (Aster), beauty (Amaryllis), and eloquence (Iris) among many. Minseok had thought that the smiles Yixing gave her were a little more bright, a little more meaningful, but maybe she had been wrong this whole time.

The door looks both welcoming and defeating, but Minseok shuffles towards it anyways. She’s never thought that it would hurt this much to walk away, but she’s all but being forced to never come back if Yixing’s reaction was anything to go by. It had practically screamed “I don’t want to talk to you now or ever again,” and yet Minseok already feels infinitely worse thinking about the fact that she will never see Yixing or Joonmyun, hell or even Kyungsoo, again.

“Minseok!” Said girl jumps, not at all expecting to hear anything else after what just happened.

She turns to Joonmyun standing there. Minseok’s heart throbs in depression - does Yixing really not want to see her that much that she’s sending Joonmyun out to tell Minseok what she already knows?

Joonmyun isn’t looking at Minseok with pity, though, but that can’t be right. If Minseok were in Joonmyun’s shoes, she would feel immense pity for herself.

Instead, she’s thrown for a loop for the third time in the last fifteen minutes. “I think you broke her,” Joonmyun says and it’s so incredibly casual that Minseok is almost sent for a _fourth_ loop.

“What?” Minseok is just glad that she manages to get that word out considering her stability both mentally and physically.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Yixing that flustered. She couldn’t even speak, but what little that did come out made absolutely no sense.”

Minseok just sends Joonmyun a blank look. She can’t believe her ears - here she thought that her angel hated her, but that’s apparently not even close to reality? It must be a mistake.

“Yixing wanted you to have this.” Joonmyun holds on a bright sapphire flower. The middle looks like spikes, surrounded by petals extending in every direction, but instead of it looking chaotic, it looks ordered. To Minseok, it kind of looks like multiple stars layered on top of each other.

Joonmyun must notice the confused look on Minseok’s face, for she says more. “The name of it is Bachelor Button. It’s not really for bachelors.”

Minseok snorts at that before she can help it and it has a smile pulling up the corners of the other girl’s lips. Joonmyun doesn’t say any more, though, so Minseok takes it that she has to look it up herself.

“Yixing also wanted me to tell you that she likes your outfit and that you look radiant in it. And that if you want to learn about flowers, you’re more than welcome to stop by on Thursdays at six.”

“Like one-on-one?” Minseok squeaks, already feeling her heart attempting to jump out of her chest both from the compliment and the invitation.

Joonmyun nods. Minseok barely suppresses the urge to whimper and quake like a leaf. If she’s being honest with herself, though, she’s jumping with joy. This is exactly the kind of opportunity that she’s been looking for to get closer to Yixing. Now the next step is getting out of the florist’s and maybe going out on a date, but Minseok’s emotions are haywire right now and that’s the last thing she needs to be thinking of.

Her mouth says _okay_ before her brain has time to process, but it’s too late; the word is already out and there’s a huge smile on Joonmyun’s face.

“Guess I’ll be seeing you on Thursdays from now on,” Joonmyun says with a smile, but it’s probably one of the most malicious things Minseok has ever seen.

Minseok knows better than to fight, having lost many arguments with Joonmyun because of her smile alone, so she just nods numbly, the flower still clutched to her chest.

“Have a nice day,” Joonmyun coos and although it’s something that she’s obligated to say to everyone, Minseok hears the teasing lilt that distinguishes it from what it normally sounds like. It makes her feel tiny (which is ridiculous - she’s wearing heels and is clearly taller than Joonmyun, even without them) so Minseok just says a quick goodbye and scurries out.

The only thing on her mind on the drive home is “Bachelor Button.” She needs to know what it means or she’s going to go crazy. She chants it in her head the whole ride home so she won’t forget.

The corners of her lips lift up into a large smile when she finally gets home and looks it up on her computer.

_Anticipation._

~✿~✿~✿~

The following Monday, Minseok is greeted with a vase of cream and rosy pink flowers on her desk. Luhan and Jongin are already crowded around her desk, although Jongin looks like he wants to be anywhere but there. Luhan, on the other hand, looks completely enthralled.

“With the way you’re looking at them, one would think those were for you, Luhan,” Minseok comments. Jongin jumps about six feet in the air, but Luhan just pouts at her.

“Sorry,” Minseok says to Jongin, even though she finds it mostly adorable. She’s always loved how Jongin is so easily scared - a very cute quirk in her opinion.

He waves it off, instead turning back to Luhan with amusement playing over his features.

“Why doesn’t anyone send _me_ flowers?” she huffs, arms crossed, looking for all intents and purposes like a child that didn’t get what they wanted.

“Because you’re weird,” Minseok replies automatically.

“Am not!”

“You are,” Jongin says. Luhan throws a pout his way as well, but he’s marginally more affected than Minseok had been, his facial features softening out until there’s only a ghost of a smile.

“Anyways, what are these? Is there a card?” Minseok asks. It’s the first time that anyone has ever sent her flowers and it would be a lie to say that her heart didn’t flutter when she thought about who it could be or what they meant.

“All it says is ‘Don’t forget and I can’t wait’,” Luhan recites. She wiggles her eyebrows not a second later and it has Minseok rolling her eyes.

“It’s not what you think.”

“How can that not be related to sex?” Luhan cries out in exasperation.

“Contrary to what you think, the world does not revolve around sex,” Jongin says wisely.

Luhan looks at him like he’s lost his mind. “Oh, I didn’t know you were an expert on this type of thing. What, a PhD in the importance of sex?”

“No, but you certainly aren’t an expert either, Miss Let’s Talk About it All of the Time but Not Actually Have Done it for Months.”

Now Luhan looks offended with a dash of confusion. Jongin rolls his eyes. “You always tell us about your nights out, don’t think I haven’t noticed that it’s been bone dry the last few months.”

“It’s true,” Minseok adds in, only having realized it after Jongin said it. She wonders if he’s always been that perceptive, but pushes it aside in favor of patting Luhan on the head. The blonde girl looks like she’s about to burst into tears, bottom lip jutting out and eyes glossy, but they all know it’s just for show.

In the end, she drops the act with a huff. “Fine. It’s not like I’m one to deny the truth, anyways.”

“That’s the spirit!” Jongin says. “Now the next step is acting normally so that someone will actually send you stuff.”

“Or just bully you into doing it,” Minseok adds casually. Jongin squawks in refusal, but it’s too late, Luhan already turning to him with her best smile.

“What have you done?” Jongin cries as he’s being dragged away by a very enthusiastic Luhan who’s blabbering on about flowers and chocolate and clothes and other things that she likes.

Minseok waves at him with a sickly sweet smile just before they round the corner. Once they’re gone, she turns back to the arrangement. It’s simple, the light colors mixing together beautifully with the soft green of the leaves added in. Minseok especially loves how the middle of the flowers are incredibly dark purple, and she can see some of the color bleeding out onto the petals of the white flowers. The petals aren’t anything extraordinary, just round and softly curving into a point at the top, yet Minseok loves them. Honestly, if Yixing just gave her stalks, she would love it.

The petals look soft, delicately positioned, and Minseok wonders if they’re as plush as they look. They’re even smoother than she thought, her fingers brushing over silk when she reaches over, yet Minseok isn’t surprised. Everything about Yixing screams soft and comforting, so it doesn’t come as extraordinary that she would send Minseok flowers that are a reflection of herself, whether intentional or not.

Nevertheless, it has a smile appearing on her face, and she gets to work with enthusiasm she didn’t have when she walked in. Four more days and then she will be able to see Yixing again. She can’t wait, the fluttering of her heart and in her stomach more prominent than ever.

~✿~✿~✿~

“Luhan!” Minseok whines.

The blonde looks away from her computer screen to stare at her friend in amusement. This time, it’s Minseok visiting Luhan, something that doesn’t happen all too often, but Minseok didn’t have anything to do and so she started thinking about Yixing. It only caused her to become sad, Thursday seeming so incredibly far away even though it’s tomorrow.

“You know, I like this side of you. Less snark and more cute.”

“Luhan,” Minseok whines again. Luhan puts her hands up in surrender, but there’s still a teasing smile on her face that Minseok wants to wipe off. But Luhan is her best friend, so she has to deal with Minseok’s problems because she sure as hell deals with Luhan’s.

“Okay okay, but I’m just saying. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you act like this before.”

“Act like what?” Minseok asks defensively. Sometimes, Minseok _still_ doesn’t know how to decipher Luhan’s tone.

Luhan’s face scrunches up in thought before relaxing into a soft smile, the softest Minseok has ever seen. “Happy, like nothing can ever bother you as long as she’s by your side.”

Minseok is taken aback, both from how serious Luhan is being and from the sudden realization that she really _is_ like that. Minseok is kind of scared - she barely even knows Yixing and they haven’t even gone on a date yet - and yet she feels wonderful. Yixing is amazing and lovely and just a blanket that Minseok always wants to curl up with; there’s no way that she could feel anything but happy with her. Minseok is suddenly extremely grateful that Yixing asked her to come over because now they can actually get to know each other and she can fall for her more. Minseok has accepted that she’s in it for the long run, she just hopes that Yixing feels the same way.

“I’m happy that you’re happy. You’ve found a great person and I hope that you’ll be together for a long time,” Luhan finishes, lacing her fingers with Minseok’s to squeeze her hand.

“Thank you,” Minseok whispers before leaning her head on her friend’s shoulder. Luhan just squeezes her hand again and starts softly singing under her breath. Minseok loves when Luhan sings, even though half of the time she’s just screaming lyrics at the top of her lungs. The times where she sings seriously, though, are Minseok’s favorite; it always serves to calm her down and keep her from breaking down. It’s a nice feeling, and more often than not, she wishes that she could return the favor. Whenever she brings it up, though, Luhan just waves her off and starts babbling enough to distract Minseok. It works every time.

“You’re the best,” Minseok half slurs, getting lulled to sleep by Luhan’s pretty voice.

“I know. Now get off my shoulder, you’re heavy.”

~✿~✿~✿~

The next day, barely an hour after lunch (and about four hours, thirty-four minutes, and twelve seconds until she meets Yixing, but she’s not counting), Luhan comes around the corner.

The blonde groans, plopping down on a chair next to Minseok’s desk. The brunette doesn’t even know when that got there, but she doesn’t question it, instead turning her attention towards her friend.

"What's wrong?"

She gets another groan in response, Luhan putting her forehead to Minseok's shoulder, her hands clutching at her stomach.

"Ah," Minseok says in understanding. She carefully moves Luhan's hands away before replacing them with her left, rubbing in gentle circles. It has Luhan sighing out, the air warm against Minseok's exposed upper arm.

"Why didn't you take an Advil?" she chides lightly.

“It’s a day early,’ Luhan practically wails. Minseok just continues her ministrations, knowing just where to gently push to get Luhan to relax. Luhan always totters over to Minseok when this happens, the worst of her cramps always coming in the middle of the day. Minseok doesn’t mind, just lets Luhan flop onto her while she continues with her work because a Luhan with cramps is a sleepy Luhan and therefore not as troubling as usual.

Minseok pulls open a drawer on the right side of her desk, placing the little container in front of Luhan. “Go take some and come back. My shoulder will still be free.”

Minseok feels a light brush of something against her cheek before Luhan is up and slowly walking to the kitchen. By the time she comes back, Minseok is back to typing, double-checking Chanyeol’s schedule for the next week while simultaneously checking emails and answering calls when they come in.

Before Luhan can lean against her, she returns the kiss from earlier, softly pecking the blonde’s cheek. It causes Luhan to sigh in content, nuzzling up against Minseok’s shoulder not long after.

It doesn’t take much longer for Minseok to finish up Chanyeol’s schedule and email it to him, which she is happy for because now she can tend to Luhan properly. It’s not really much work on her part, since Luhan just needs someone to run fingers through her hair and a shoulder to lean on and she’s already got half of it down.

“Feel better?” Minseok wonders as she pets Luhan’s hair.

Luhan grumbles out something, punctuated by a low groan.

“Just give the Advil ten minutes to kick in and then you can go back to bothering me like you usually do.”

Luhan swats at Minseok’s thigh half-heartedly, but Minseok can see a smile blooming on her face, causing one to appear on her face as well. It makes Minseok happy to know that she can do something for Luhan, no matter how small. It also doesn’t hurt that Luhan is quiet for once.

“Hurry up and get better. It’s too peaceful,” Minseok teases, now back to rubbing circles on the blonde’s tummy.

“You know I would if I could. I hate this time of the month. Why can’t I be a dude? I would rather deal with random boners than this every damn month.”

Minseok snorts, because leave it to Luhan to still be crude when she’s in pain. “But then you wouldn’t be able to dress up and wear those heels you love so much.”

“That…is a very valid point. I don’t know how I would live without pencil skirts and tight shirts.”

“Oh, the horror,” Minseok says with faux sadness. She would’ve put the back of her hand to her head as per usual, but Luhan isn’t looking, and she only ever does it to make Luhan happy, so she opts out.

Luhan lets out a quite giggle anyways and it’s enough for Minseok. For the next few minutes, she just hums a song and runs fingers through Luhan’s locks. They get a few weird stares from people walking by, but Minseok could honestly care less. Her work is done for the moment - it’s time to care for her friend (one of the only times that she’s nice, Luhan likes to joke).

Within six minutes, Luhan is bounding up and around again. It mostly brings frown lines to Minseok’s face, but she’s smiling, too. In her opinion, crinkles by her eyes are better than crinkles on her forehead - they make her look cute and friendly. Luhan likes to say that it just makes her look old. Minseok bristles and swipes at her each time.

“Thank you,” Luhan sing-songs, wrapping her arms around Minseok’s head, squishing the poor girl to her chest. Minseok can’t breathe for a second, but before it starts to become a serious problem, Luhan pulls away, flouncing around again. Minseok has half a mind to take Advil herself, the other girl’s movements starting to give her a headache.

“Are you okay?” someone asks wearily.

“Jongin!” Luhan coos, shuffling over to said male. She gives him a hug, too, and he wraps his arms around her smaller frame easily, always up for hugging or cuddling of any sort, even if he has no idea why he’s being hugged.

“Should I be concerned? Not that I mind.” Jongin looks bashful as he says it, ducking his head away from Minseok’s sharp gaze once he notices her staring.

“Nope! I feel a lot better now thanks to my Minseokkie,” Luhan chirps, her endless energy evaporating as she leans her head on Jongin’s no doubt firm chest in content.

Minseok shakes her head when Jongin sends her a questioning look over the top of Luhan’s head, the male shrugging in response. Minseok loves that about him - he won’t pry if you don’t want to tell him something, just lets it go and welcomes you with open arms when you’re ready.

Luhan starts talking again and Minseok takes that as her cue to turn around and go back to work. She’s noticed that the two of them talk secretly sometimes, hushed whispers and soft strokes of hair, lost in their own world. It’s odd, she thinks, but she’s pretty sure she knows what’s going on - now it’s just a matter of if _they_ do as well.

~✿~✿~✿~

When Minseok walks in that day, she almost whimpers. Luckily, she has some self control and holds it back, disguising the half-strangled noise as a cough. Smooth.

It's not her fault, though. If anything, Yixing is to blame, with her cute face and cute smile and cute everything, including her hairstyle. Her bangs are softly covering her forehead, looking like silk as Yixing sweeps them to the side when they get in her way. But that’s not the point. The point is that there are two little ponytails on top of Yixing’s head, one on each side, falling in with the rest of her auburn waves nicely. Minseok can't help but want to twirl them around her finger just to see if her hair is as soft as it looks.

Minseok is in deep.

She can hear Luhan cackling from here.

Nevertheless, she walks over like nothing’s wrong, even though she feels like she’s going to blurt out something completely embarrassing any second.

“Hey,” she says, hoping that it doesn’t sound too stressed, the force at which she’s holding herself back from squealing extremely taxing.

“Minseok!” Yixing exclaims, her eyes curving up happily. Minseok fires out every curse word she knows in her head.

Minseok manages to get herself together enough to ask, “How has your day been?”

The other girl puffs out her cheeks. “Boring. I finished all of the arrangements earlier, so I’ve just been waiting for you.”

The admission causes a pretty pink to dust Minseok’s cheeks, her train of thought completely broken. “What about Kyungsoo? Or Joonmyun?” she questions, happy that she didn’t stutter since her tongue is completely tied as usual.

Yixing hums. “I told them to go home so we could be alone.”

Minseok has pretty much died and gone to heaven at this point - the angel wants to spend time _just_ with her. She doesn’t think life can get much better than this. Minseok is just overjoyed that Yixing seems to want to spend as much time with her as Minseok does.

Nevertheless, Minseok can feel her cheeks turn from a soft pink to an unhealthy scarlet. Clearing her throat, she looks around the shop in a way she hopes looks natural, praying that Yixing doesn’t notice how much her words affect her.

It’s a fruitless effort, for when she turns back, she spies a slight smile curving Yixing’s lips up, her eyes full of mirth.

“Anyways.” Minseok coughs in embarrassment, “What exactly are we going to be doing?”

“Why?” Yixing wonders, one eyebrow raising in question. “That eager to get out of here?”

“Of course not!” Minseok squeaks.

Yixing laughs at Minseok’s frantic hand motions. “Calm down, I was joking, silly girl. But since you’re in such a hurry, we can start now.” She gestures to the stool next to her, Minseok pausing for a second.

“Am I allowed back there?” she wonders, always having been on one side of the counter, never on the employee side.

With pure amusement on her face, Yixing tells Minseok, “I own this place.”

“Right,” Minseok says like that should’ve been obvious (it should’ve).

It doesn’t feel any different being on the other side of the counter, but it’s still a little odd to be looking out at the store instead of walking around in it. Minseok promptly forgets that train of thought when she sits down, abruptly noticing just how little space there is between her and Yixing.

Yixing doesn’t seem bothered by the (lack of) space at all, reaching over and picking up an off-white flower, the petals spiraling out from the light yellow middle and growing in size the farther out they go. It’s small, no larger than the palm of her hand, Minseok cupping it gently when Yixing passes it to her. It smells heavenly, like a mix of spring with a soft hint of rain.

“It’s a Gardenia,” Yixing supplies. “It means purity and sweetness.”

“How is it that you always manage to pick out flowers with the most beautiful of meanings?” Minseok asks in awe.

There’s a smile on Yixing’s face. “There are a lot to choose from. Besides, I don’t want to teach you something that has a negative meaning.”

Minseok can see the spark in her irises, the loving way she looks around, and finds her heart giving part of itself away again. She’s always found it adorable how much Yixing loves flowers; the passion is so raw she would have to be blind to miss it.

There’s also a small part of her that thinks that there’s more to Yixing’s statement than she lets on, but she doesn’t press it. She knows that Yixing would’ve told her if she wanted her to know, so she lets it go, going back to stroking the petals.

Minseok is suddenly aware of how quiet the shop is, faint noise slipping in through the door aside. This is the part she has been worrying over for the last few days, that lull in conversation where she isn’t sure whether she should say something or wait for Yixing to say something. It’s weird, since they’ve been able to talk perfectly fine every other time, but they were simple conversations focused mainly on business. Now that Minseok is here for something else, and the length of time is much longer, she feels incredibly lost.

“If you don’t mind, can I ask a question?”

Minseok has never nodded so quickly in her life, not for the first time praising Yixing and how wonderful she is.

“That one day, when you were wearing that white outfit…” The break in the sentence causes Minseok to look up, finding a flustered Yixing looking off to the side. Minseok’s lips twitch, but she holds the smile back no matter how hard it is not to coo over the sight. “Didn’t your boss mind?”

A bubble of laughter escapes before Minseok can control it. “No,” she responds, muffling another giggle behind her palm. “He’s very lenient, something that one needs to be when dealing with Luhan.”

“Luhan?” Yixing enquires, her head tilted to the side.

“My best friend. She’s…” Minseok thinks about a word to accurately describe the blonde and settles on, “interesting.”

Humming, Yixing gives a nod. “I’ll have to meet her one day.”

Minseok’s brain screams _no way in hell_ immediately and the rest of Minseok has to agree. The two of them meeting would only spell disaster, as Minseok would have no idea what Luhan would say, and certainly not willing to take the risk. She agrees, anyways, though, if only to placate Yixing. She steers the conversation back to Chanyeol, because he’s safe and does not have the large possibility of revealing one of Minseok’s secrets if they were to meet (not like that’s going to happen, either, but still).

She launches into story after story, like the one time that a previous intern named Yifan came in wearing all pink (Minseok still doesn’t know why he did that) and when Chanyeol stayed to help her finish her paperwork, even though he wasn’t obligated in the slightest.

“He must like you a lot,” Yixing muses, her head propped on her hand.

“Chanyeol?” Minseok asks. Yixing’s answering hum has her groaning.

“Don’t. Luhan has been trying to convince me he’s had a crush on me for a while, but I don’t believe it.”

“And why not?”

Minseok flaps her hands around. “It’s just too weird. He’s my boss, he should know that those types of relationships wouldn’t work out.”

“Actually,” Yixing says, “they’re pretty successful in fiction. It probably has some merit in real life as well.”

Minseok wants to question the girl on what she reads in her spare time, but pushes it away in favor of making a dying sound in the back of her throat. “Not you, too.”

Throwing her hands up in surrender, Yixing replies, “I’m just saying. It sounds like he’s very enamored from what you’ve told me.”

Minseok slumps in her chair with a pout. “But I don’t like him in that way. I don’t like guys in general.”

 _Oh, shit,_ she screams internally when that slips out.

Before she can launch into a panic attack about whether or not Yixing thinks differently about her (because Minseok still doesn’t explicitly know if Yixing likes girls, too), she sees the other girl shrug. “Well then it looks like he’s out of luck.”

“You don’t mind?” Minseok blurts out. If all her cards are already laid out on the table, she might as well make the most of it.

“No? It’s not like I can tell you how to live your life, especially since I’m living the same one. That would just be hypocritical.”

And there’s the last blow, the final sentence that has Minseok’s heart completing its journey into Yixing’s hands. Minseok doesn’t think that she’s ever heard something so beautiful, and she’s heard Luhan singing and Yixing speaking, so that’s saying a lot.

The only thing that she manages to get out is an, “Oh,” that has her wincing. It’s quite possibly the worst, most noncommittal answer she could’ve possibly given, yet it has Yixing snorting in amusement.

“Don’t strain yourself with words, now,” Yixing jests. Minseok squawks in rebuttal and the two of them launch into a word war, both throwing teasing remarks at each other until their cheeks hurt from the sunny smiles that adorn their faces.

Conversation, Minseok finds, is extremely easy after that, the two of them bouncing around from topic to topic, the air filled with bright laughter and jovial words. Minseok also finds that her heart can’t seem to contain itself, the organ beating and beating until she’s sure that it’s going to break right through the bone and skin protecting it.

It’s with a pout that she walks out the door, the Gardenia safely tucked into her hair (courtesy of Yixing. Minseok had shivered when Yixing’s fingers brushed her cheek and when they combed through her hair to find the perfect spot for the flower).

“Don’t be sad, pretty girl,” Yixing coos. Minseok’s cheeks flame at the nickname that Yixing had given her somewhere between shy smiles and fleeting gazes.

Minseok’s pout deepens, if only to get a giggle from the other girl. She succeeds, Yixing’s pleasant laugh reaching her ears, causing the curl of Minseok’s lips to change directions.

“Go before I tackle you down in a hug,” Yixing says. Minseok hesitates, torn between wanting to see if Yixing will make good on her threat and leaving before she stops breathing if Yixing _does_ make good on it.

She decides that she values her health and wants to stay alive to keep seeing Yixing and learning more things about the perfect girl in front of her, so she sighs dramatically. “I guess I could leave now lest you suffocate me to death.”

With a gasp, Yixing looks at her with innocent doe eyes. “How did you know?”

“Hey!” Minseok cries, reflexively leaning over to tickle Yixing. It has the girl dissolving in a fit of giggles that have Minseok melting.

“I’ll pay you back for that, just you wait,” Yixing claims once she gets her breath back.

“I’m quaking in my boots.”

“As you should be!”

Rolling her eyes, Minseok bids Yixing goodbye, shivering slightly when she steps out of the door, the biting wind sending shivers up and down her spine.

“See you next week,” Minseok calls, wrapping her cardigan farther around herself in a weak defense against the elements.

“I’ll be waiting.” Minseok’s not sure, but she’s pretty sure she can hear a lift at the end of the other girl’s sentence, but she doesn’t know whether it’s out of Yixing’s natural cuteness, her own wistfulness, or something else entirely.

The first thing Minseok does when she gets home is take the flower out of her hair, careful not to crush the petals too much, put it in the microwave, and then in her book. Her swirling cursive smiles up at her, reminding her of a new memory just made, and a happy bubble makes its way into the middle of her chest to take residence.

It’s a nice feeling, one that she doesn’t want leaving any time soon.

~✿~✿~✿~

“Shit, shit, shit,” Minseok chants, frantically trying to pack up her desk so she can leave. The reports she had to type took longer than she anticipated and now she’s late for her weekly meeting with Yixing. She’d had the thought to text Yixing to tell her in advance, promptly deflating when she realized she didn’t have her number. Her only hope now is that if she does enough groveling, Yixing, the kind soul that she is, will forgive her. She is just about to turn and sprint for the elevator when someone calls for her.

"Can I talk to you for a second, Minseok?" Chanyeol asks, poking his head out from behind his office door.

Suppressing the urge to groan, Minseok puts a smile on her face. “Sure.”

Despite the fact that she’s already late, Minseok knows that this is more urgent. Chanyeol rarely calls her into his office, but when he does, it’s always important. Maybe he wants to talk about a meeting he has later that week or wants to shuffle his schedule around. Nevertheless, Minseok makes her way over to the dark oak door, almost ramming right into Chanyeol’s back when she steps over the threshold. Her boss is standing in the middle of the room, which is odd.

“Yes?” she ventures, hoping that she doesn’t sound rude. Offending her boss is the last thing she wants to do, not only for the sake of her job, but because Chanyeol is sincerely a nice guy and she likes him.

Chanyeol’s shoulders stiffen up. Now Minseok is completely concerned - she rarely sees her boss nervous or worried.

Laying a hand on his shoulder, Minseok calls out his name in question. Chanyeol lets out a shuddering breath before turning around, shoulders now set in determination.

“This might be sudden, but I’ve been wanting to say it for a while now.”

Minseok feels an unpleasant lurch in her stomach when she meets Chanyeol’s gaze. If this is going where she thinks it’s going, and it will get there quickly since her boss is nothing if not quick and efficient, then there’s going to be a huge problem.

“You’re possibly the best person I’ve ever met in my life and I don’t know how much longer I can keep this in. I like you,” Chanyeol confesses, eyes boring into Minseok’s own and ripping her soul to pieces. She hates when Luhan is right, especially now, because she doesn’t know how to gently tell Chanyeol that she doesn’t feel the same way.

“Chanyeol,” she starts and she must sound sad because Chanyeol’s whole face drops along with his shoulders. It looks like he’s carrying the weight of the world with how heavy his shoulders look. Minseok can feel her own getting weighed down by guilt.

“I don’t know what I was expecting when I decided that I would tell you this,” Chanyeol says, letting out a long stream of air. “Actually, I did. I thought, with a sliver of hope, that you would maybe feel the same way, but I think that deep down, I knew that this would be the outcome.”

“Listen to me, Chanyeol,” Minseok states firmly. When she has his full attention, she continues, “You’re wonderful. You’re humble and you’re funny and you’re clearly very intelligent if the success of your business is anything to go by. So please understand me when I say it’s definitely not you. Any girl would be lucky to have someone like you like them, and I’m flattered, really, but I like girls.”

Chanyeol’s mouth forms a tiny circle of surprise, his eyes following suit. “Oh, that’s- oh. Okay! I understand, really. At least I know that it’s not my looks or personality that are lacking, just my perceptive abilities,” he tries to joke, but there’s a hint of sadness in his voice that Minseok slumps at.

She gives him a sorry smile, knowing that it’s not good enough to fix a broken heart, but it’s all she can do at the moment to comfort him. She doesn’t think that placing a comforting hand on his bicep would be beneficial, so she just stands there, arms hanging limply by her sides.

“There’s a girl out there for you, I promise. I’m just sorry that I couldn’t be her.”

“Don’t worry about it. I probably should’ve asked about your orientation beforehand instead of assuming.”

“Don’t blame yourself,” Minseok says sternly. “No one is to blame here, so don’t think about it that way.”

“You always know what to say,” Chanyeol marvels, causing Minseok to flush.

“Not really, I just say what I want to say. It just so happens that my words are fabulous.”

That coaxes a laugh out of her boss, the sound deep and inviting. Minseok hopes that he will find someone that will love him; he deserves to be happy, too.

A quick glance towards the clock on the wall has Minseok cursing. Chanyeol picks up on it, eyebrows lifting up in question when he asks, “Do you need to be somewhere?”

“Oh, it’s fine, I was just supposed to meet someone.”

“Then why are you still standing here?”

Biting her lip, Minseok looks towards the door before taking a step back, only to stop and look her boss over. “I’m sorry again, Chanyeol.” And she really is. If there’s one thing that Minseok hates the most, it’s disappointing people or making them sad.

Chanyeol just waves her off. “Like you said, it’s not anyone’s fault. Nothing will change, so have a nice night and make sure the person you’re meeting is happy. It’s what you do best.”

Minseok practically deflates with relief, overjoyed at the fact that their relationship won’t be changing too much. She likes Chanyeol and wouldn’t know what to do without him, he’s that constant in her life (and not because he’s her boss). She’s not stupid, she knows that it will be a little strained for a while, but this is the best outcome she could’ve asked for, despite the fact that she’s getting the better end of the deal.

“Thank you,” Minseok says, sending Chanyeol a smile before leaving. She checks her phone on the way to the elevator, almost crying when she sees the time.

Forty minutes isn’t too late, right?

Forty turns into fifty when she finally rushes through the door, the usually soft jingle of the bell discordant and loud with how quickly she throws the door open.

“I’m so, so sorry, Yixing. I was stuck at work and then my boss called me into his office to talk to me and please believe me when I say that I wanted to be on time, really, I did, so please don’t hate me,” she gets out all in one breath, lungs frantically contracting and releasing to get air into her system.

She’s met with silence and looks up only to feel the color drain from her face.

“Oh…hey, Kyungsoo.” Minseok gulps when all the other girl does is snip some leaves from a flower sharply, that blank stare of hers pinning Minseok to the floor.

“You know,” Kyungsoo starts, eyes still boring right into Minseok’s own, “you should consider yourself lucky.” She punctuates the end of the sentence with another quick clip of the scissors. Minseok feels like it’s her body being cut up into pieces instead of the leaves.

“I should?” she asks, wincing when Kyungsoo rips a leaf off this time instead. She goes to put the dark purple flower into an arrangement delicately, turning the vase this way and that to make sure it looks fine. Minseok is quaking; if Kyungsoo’s goal is to reduce Minseok to a frightened kitten in the corner, it’s definitely working.

The other girl nods, but before she can explain herself, Yixing pokes her head out from the back room, her gloomy face turning radiant in an instant.

“Yixing,” Minseok calls out in relief, a tiny smile on her face.

“Hi, pretty girl,” Yixing responds. Kyungsoo’s eyebrows shoot up at the nickname. Minseok is just happy that she’s far away from the scissors lest she feels the need to throw them at something (or someone named Minseok). Turning to the raven-haired girl, Yixing says, “Thanks for staying, Kyungsoo. You can go home now. And remember that you have tomorrow off.”

Kyungsoo takes one last look at Minseok before she heads towards the back room. Minseok doesn’t know if it’s just her, but Kyungsoo hadn’t looked as malicious just then, just a little softer. She doesn’t dwell on it for too long, since she’s almost eighty percent positive Kyungsoo still hates her and she still has some groveling to do.

“I-“ Yixing cuts her off before she can beg for forgiveness.

“I already heard your little speech from before. It’s okay, things happen.”

“You’re amazing,” Minseok says, not even embarrassed in the slightest, because it’s true.

Beaming, Yixing skips over and grabs Minseok’s hand. Minseok nearly trips and face plants because _she’s holding Yixing’s hand_ , holy crap she hopes that her palm isn’t too sweaty, but what is she supposed to do? Can she interlock their fingers or is it too soon to do that? But what if Yixing thinks that Minseok doesn’t want to hold her hand because her grips isn’t that tight or-

“Whatever you’re thinking so hard about, stop. It looks like you need to use the restroom,” Yixing’s voice brings her out of her stupor, giggling slightly when Minseok looks around in confusion. Minseok was just standing - how did she get behind the counter and onto the stool?

Yixing’s amused gaze meets hers when Minseok turns to ask for an explanation, the request dying when she gets lost in Yixing’s pretty hazel orbs. They’re like swirling pools of creamy chocolate, drawing her in and never letting her go.

Yixing has to break her out of her thoughts a second time, Minseok flushing up to her ears at her sheer inability to function properly.

“I’m sorry, it’s just been a long day,” Minseok says, not entirely a lie, but not entirely the reason she’s currently on the struggle bus, either.

Yixing hums, squeezing Minseok’s hand (holy shit, they’re still clasped. Minseok tries very hard to breathe and act like nothing is wrong). “So I hear. Want to talk about it?"

That’s all the invitation Minseok needs, launching into the story of her day, making sure that she apologizes for being late multiple times throughout despite Yixing telling her not to. She hesitates when it comes to Chanyeol, but decides that it wouldn’t be a smart idea to bottle it up, spilling her concerns and guilt to a patient Yixing.

“And I just feel so bad because it must suck to see the person that you like reject you and then continue to be in their presence everyday,” Minseok ends, still feeling the heaviness on her shoulders, but her chest feels lighter, like she can breathe again.

“This might sound obvious, but I think he’s going to be okay. It’s not like Chanyeol is the first person to have ever gone through something like this and he won’t be the last. From what you’ve told me about him, you won’t need to worry.” Yixing rubs soothing circles on the back of Minseok’s hands. She relaxes just a little, the other girl’s words and ministrations extremely soothing. But that still doesn’t stop Minseok from worrying more.

“But I just…I don’t know. It doesn’t seem fair.”

“He’s an adult, Minseok,” Yixing deadpans. “No, don’t beat yourself up about it,” she continues when she sees Minseok open her mouth to refute. “Who was the one that said it was nobody’s fault?”

“Me,” Minseok mutters meekly.

“Right, so listen to your own advice.”

A few minutes later, the both of them just sitting in comfortable silence, Minseok blurts out, “Thank you. For listening and not judging me.”

Yixing sends her an amused stare, but Minseok can detect a softness there as well. “I work in a flower shop, love. Do you know how many frantic boyfriends I see on a daily basis? If I don’t judge them, I certainly won’t think ill of anyone, especially if they’re cute like you. And breathe, it looks like you’re going to explode any minute now. I would prefer not having to clean up chunks of your body from the walls and floor.”

That manages to coax a bubble of laughter out of Minseok despite the large need to go sit in the corner until her face cools off from all of the compliments. Yixing beams. “See, there’s my pretty girl.”

Everything after “my” gets thrown out the window in Minseok’s mind, the singular word of possession throwing her for a loop, her mind fuzzy with pleasure, stomach fluttering with butterflies.

“Chanyeol said you were supposed to make me happy, right?”

Confused, Minseok can only manage a nod.

“So let’s talk about your flower for the day. It will make me happier…but still not entirely happy so you’ll have to work for it.” Yixing’s eyes are glittering with challenge with a slight hint of teasing mixed in.

“And what do I get if I succeed?” Minseok enquires.

If possible, Yixing’s orbs twinkle even more, almost a rival of Luhan’s natural doe eyes that the girl likes to flaunt so much.

“That’s my secret.” Winking, Yixing puts a finger to her lips. It has Minseok pouting, the fact that Yixing is keeping the information to herself all the more reason she wants to know.

“Your flower for the day,” Yixing announces proudly, completely ignoring Minseok’s expression, “is Larkspur.” Minseok is thrown off when, instead of the single flower she is expecting, she gets a face full of a long row of flowers, the stalk full of light pink petals. Minseok is positive that if she were to hold it against her torso, it would be longer.

“What do they mean?”

One side of Yixing’s mouth curls up. Minseok has a bad feeling about this. “Well, I picked it out while I was waiting for you.” Now Minseok _definitely_ has a bad feeling about this. “They can mean a happy-go-lucky nature, but this color specifically mean fickleness.”

“Yah!” Minseok calls out amidst Yixing’s giggles. Her laughter turns into shrieks when Minseok lunges, the other girl darting away from the grabby hands reaching for her.

“Come back here!”

“Make me,” Yixing says, crouching behind a table full of pre-made arrangements meant to be sent out the next day.

With a battle cry, Minseok rushes around the work bench. Yixing flees, her hair flowing out behind her in waves of copper as she heads towards the main part of the shop, around and around until Minseok is almost dizzy with all of the colors passing by.

Out of breath, Minseok stops, hands on her knees. She can hear Yixing’s little pants from where she stands a few feet away, wondering just how she’s so fit because Minseok is dying.

Suddenly hit with an idea, Minseok crouches down, thankful that she’s wearing regular shoes today instead of heels. Still low on the ground, Minseok maneuvers around a table full of stuffed animals, some proclaiming “I love you beary much!” and others just general teddy bears with a white or red ribbon tied around their neck.

Minseok peeks around the table, seeing Yixing looking around, presumably in search of Minseok. She holds her laughter in. Yixing’s face is clueless, yet adorable, which doesn’t surprise Minseok. Everything about the other girl is adorable.

Once Yixing turns around, she attacks, Yixing squealing in surprise when Minseok wraps arms around her from behind to lift her up and twirl her around.

“Put me down!” Yixing manages to get out between her giggles, trying and failing to get Minseok to loosen her grip.

“Never!” Minseok just holds on tighter, although she does stop twirling because she’s getting dizzy and dropping Yixing is the last thing she wants to do.

“Minseok,” Yixing whines, but said girl just hums. She quite enjoys the position she’s in at the moment and is loath to stop hugging Yixing.

Yixing huffs in annoyance, but she relaxes, causing Minseok to smile to herself. In retrospect, it’s kind of weird that they’re already hugging (and intimately at that), but for some reason, it doesn’t feel wrong. Minseok doesn’t even know why she’s still hanging on (besides the fact that _she has Yixing in her arms_ ), but she can just pass it off as being tired if Yixing gets weirded out.

Her fake reasoning gives her the otherwise-absent confidence to put her head on Yixing’s shoulder with a content sigh. Yixing smells heavenly, like peaches and all of the flowers that she’s around all of the time. It’s intoxicating.

Yixing puts her arms on top of Minseok’s, leaning back into the embrace. Minseok feels like screaming out in joy, a perpetual happy bubble taking residence in her chest.

She only lets go when Yixing starts wiggling around, thinking that Yixing’s getting annoyed. But then she grabs Minseok’s hand and tugs her back to the counter.

“I have another flower for you. The real one I wanted to give you,” she explains. Minseok lets out an _ah_ of understanding, eyes lighting up when she sees the tiny flowers in Yixing’s hands.

“I like orchids,” Minseok says, proud that she can actually identify the flower. Yixing eyes are wide, but then they soften out, a tiny smile appearing.

“Do you know what they mean?”

Sheepishly, Minseok shakes her head, causing Yixing to laugh. “It symbolizes exotic beauty. I picked it because of…well your features, obviously, but more specifically your eyes. They’re very pretty.”

“Really?” It’s honestly the first time that Minseok has ever heard that, which is what she tells Yixing.

Now it’s the other girl’s turn to be stupefied. “Your eyes are the first thing I noticed about you. They’re just so striking, I don’t know how people could miss them.”

Minseok didn’t think it was possible for her face to get any redder, but the heat that she feels proves otherwise and it’s air conditioned in the shop, so it’s definitely not the room’s fault. “T-thank you,” she manages to stutter out, ducking her head in a feeble attempt to hide her face.

“You’re welcome, pretty girl.”

“Are there any arrangements that I can buy?” Minseok asks, half in genuine curiosity and half to get Yixing away from her so she can get a hold of her racing heart and beet red face.

Yixing taps her chin in thought with a hum. “There should be. I’ll go check.”

“Breathe, Minseok, breathe,” she chants once Yixing is far away enough. She’s just barely gotten herself under control when Yixing comes back happily, a tiny white wicker basket of magenta flowers in her arms.

“This was the last one, lucky you.”

“Oh, thank heavens,” Minseok exclaims dramatically, smiling when she hears the auburn-haired girl let out a small chuckle.

Before Yixing can tell her what the total is, Minseok is handing over her card, all too used to the routine.

“I don’t know why you bother to try and tell me the price,” Minseok says, amusement lacing her sentence.

“Habit.”

Minseok nods. “Good point.”

Yixing flashes a winning smile. “I always have good points.”

“Bad point.”

“Hey!”

Minseok bursts out laughing, Yixing’s immediate response just too amusing. The other girl doesn’t look like she shares the same sentiment, her lips stretched in a thin line, but it starts to crack, the corners curling up at the edges until Yixing’s laughing as well.

“Okay, okay, not always. Ninety-six percent of the time,” Yixing amends, hiding her laughter behind her palms.

Minseok wants to tell her not to do that, that her smile is beautiful and that she would be honored to see it, but it can wait for another time. For now, she just agrees, a soft “Okay,” escaping into the air.

“And since I’m also _so_ nice, I’ll walk you to the door so you aren’t lonely.”

Raising an eyebrow, Minseok takes ahold of the basket. “Thank you?”

“No problem,” Yixing chirps, right beside Minseok as she walks towards the door.

The distance to the door is dismal, and by the time they reach it, Minseok still has no idea why Yixing decided to accompany her. She gets her answer when she suddenly has an armful of the other girl, her auburn hair tickling Minseok’s neck.

All she can think about is how sweet Yixing smells, like there’s a constant halo of flowers around her. If she could, Minseok would stay in Yixing’s embrace all day and feel nothing but content.

A quick peck to her cheek breaks Minseok out of her thoughts sharply, crashing back into reality as if someone slammed on the breaks of a car and propelled her forward, losing her breath for a second.

Minseok is so disoriented from all of the stimulation that she barely registers Yixing slipping something into her basket.

“Thank you for making me happy.”

If there’s more to that statement then it seems, Minseok is too lost to notice, the only response she’s capable of giving being a dazed nod. It causes a smile to spread on Yixing’s face. Minseok thinks she sees a sparkle to Yixing’s eyes, but she can’t confirm or deny it for the other girl is gently pushing her towards the door.

“I’ll see you next week. Drive safely,” Yixing coos. For a split second, Minseok’s heart picks up speed, thinking that Yixing might kiss her cheek again, but the organ slows down to normal when the other girl stays where she is.

“I will,” Minseok manages to say, sending the florist a quick wave before she turns and makes her way to the parking lot. After buckling the flowers in (they’re precious, okay), she starts her car and peels out of the parking lot with practiced ease.

One stop at the ramen shop a block away from her apartment later and she’s parking her car, both the basket and bag of ramen in her hands. Minseok idly thinks that she’s far too good at carrying a lot of things at once and that she was clearly a pack mule in her last life.

Minseok unlocks the door, letting out a sigh of content once she puts everything down without any casualties. The noodles are still hot when Minseok opens the lid, the steam flowing out freely to caress her face. It’s with a hunger that she wasn’t aware of until that moment that she scarfs the delicious, savory taste of the spicy noodles down. She tries not to think about how empty the seat across from her is.

Clean-up is easy, Minseok just dropping the container and chopsticks in the trash. Her plan to take a shower and curl up on the couch with a book comes to a halt when she spies the basket of flowers, suddenly remembering that she still needs to document them.

A white slip nestled in the midst of magenta catches her eye. It would’ve been a normal receipt, just a plain piece of paper with black digits and letters on it. It would’ve been a normal receipt, except for the extra black digits and letters on the bottom, where there is neat handwriting waiting for her.

_I thought that you should have my number ^^ It won’t be that hard to talk now since I’ll be just a message away~ I’ll always be here to listen, chu <3_

Right under that are numbers so nicely written that Minseok is almost convinced that a machine wrote them. Minseok chooses to ignore the fluttering of her heart, instead focusing on the sentences below Yixing’s phone number. The writing is messier, as if it was hastily thought of and written down as quickly as possible.

_And you got two presents today. Lucky you~_

Minseok is convinced that she must have saved a country in her past life to be able to have someone like Yixing in her current one. She has half a mind to frame the receipt, but quickly scraps the idea on the grounds that that would be really creepy. Instead, she just tucks it away in the box where she stores the rest of her receipts, but not before creating a contact for Yixing in her phone.

The name _Flower Angel_ greets her when Minseok is finished saving it. The sight brings a smile to her face and she shoots the other girl a quick text before going to take a shower.

Minseok steps out of the bathroom twenty minutes later, steam trailing after her in waves. She pads to the living room to start her reading, checking her phone out of habit. “Flower Angel” as well as the beginning of a message flashes on the screen. Minseok’s breath gets caught in her throat. She hadn’t thought that Yixing would respond tonight, nonetheless as quickly as she did.

Minseok feels like her heart is going to fly up her throat and out her mouth. Everything else is insignificant when she reads the message, though, a bright smile curling the corners of her lips up.

_Hehe now that I have your number, don’t think that I won’t be using it. Expect messages from me often~_

Minseok responds with a, _What have I gotten myself into T.T_ , settling in with a book, warm and cozy under her cream woolly blanket.

Her phone suddenly beeps, telling her a new message has arrived.

_I’m amazing, don’t even act like you’re upset :p_

Her phone chimes again not two seconds after she’s done reading the first message.

_But I will admit that you’re more amazing ^^”_

Minseok thinks it’s been a great day.

~✿~✿~✿~

To her credit, Luhan doesn’t look all that surprised when Minseok tells her about what happened. Her eyes had widened a bit, but then a smirk graced her face, all but screaming “I knew it.”

“Please don’t rub it in my face. I still feel bad about the whole thing.” Luhan’s features smooth out and she reaches out to run a hand through Minseok’s straightened hair.

“Like Yixing said last week and I’m saying now, it will be fine. I’m positive that Chanyeol isn’t the type to mope around and let the business plummet to the pits of hell.”

“Reassuring,” Minseok grumbles.

Sighing, Luhan gives her a hug as best she can considering Minseok is sitting and Luhan is standing. “Don’t worry about it.”

It’s at that exact moment that Chanyeol chooses to walk by. Minseok had been dutifully ignoring him for the past four days, which is kind of difficult since she’s his secretary, but Minseok can now say that, if she was proficient with emails before, she’s a Goddess with them now. With a smile, he greets both women, and then he’s off. Minseok had been so surprised that she didn’t even have time to react.

“See? It didn’t look like his soul was ripped to pieces, like I’ve been trying to tell you for the past week. Breathe, Minseok.”

“I...” She doesn’t know what to say. Chanyeol _had_ said that nothing was going to change, yet Minseok still had some doubt. It wasn’t doubting him, though, more like herself. She’s always found it hard to believe people when they tell her that she’s doing things right, or that things won’t change despite circumstances that would suggest otherwise. She knows that it’s irrational, but she can’t help it. Everyone in her life is important and she doesn’t want to lose any of them.

Luhan places a reassuring kiss to Minseok’s temple right when Jongin turns the corner. His eyes widen a little, orbs speedily flicking back and forth between the two, confusion clearly written across his handsome face.

“You know,” Luhan drawls, twirling a piece of Minseok’s hair, “you would think that after knowing us, especially me, for the last two years, you would be used to how affectionate we are with each other.”

A nice flush makes itself at home on Jongin’s cheekbones. Minseok finds it cute how he’s still so shy about certain things, especially since he hangs out with Luhan so often.

“Now, now, love, let’s not make him any more embarrassed,” Minseok chides, leaning back into Luhan when the other girl wraps her arms around her shoulders. Despite what she just said, Minseok knows that the action will cause Jongin to become more flustered, lightly giggling when it seems that Jongin is looking behind them and not directly at them.

“Cute,” Luhan says. By now, Jongin has a healthy shade of scarlet on his face that doesn’t look like it will be going away anytime soon. Minseok is about to joke about how he’s going to need a fan to cool his face down, but decides to help him, remembering all of the times that he had done the same for her when she was in Luhan’s clutches.

Two pats is all it takes for Luhan to retract her arms, but not without a whine. “Play nice,” Minseok says, earning a smile from Jongin and a pinch to the back from Luhan. Yelping from the sting, she speedily makes her way over to Jongin, lips turned down pitifully. “I knew there was a reason I liked Jongin more.”

Luhan lets out an indignant squawk that sounds very much like a bird in pain, cherry red lips pursed out in a pout of her own. “I need love, too!”

Minseok pokes Jongin in the back at that statement, but luckily, he doesn’t flinch and give it away. Instead, he just pushes her persistent digits away. Minseok gets the hint easily enough, but that doesn’t mean she’ll stop teasing the both of them any time soon.

“Is my love not enough?” Minseok questions, one eyebrow raised over Jongin’s shoulder. Even with heels, Jongin is still a good few centimeters taller than her, causing Minseok to have to peek over the broad length of his back to see her friend.

“No,” the blonde deadpans.

“Rude as hell,” Minseok responds automatically. Jongin snorts, causing both of the girls to break the staring contest they’re having.

“You two sure are interesting. I still think that the world would be a better place if you hadn’t met, though.” This time when Minseok delivers a sharp punch to his kidney, he does flinch, wheezing afterwards.

“Please,” Luhan drags out the word. “The world, and this office for that matter, are so much better off with us around.”

“If you want to keep your other kidney out of the crossfire, I would suggest agreeing with her statement.”

“Why do the both of you pick on me so much?” Jongin complains.

Luhan shrugs. “We all fall victim. Although you two gang up on me more than anything.” Sharp eyes narrow in their direction, the eyeliner rimming the blonde’s eyes making the stare more striking.

“Guilty as charged,” Jongin responds, holding his hand out backwards for Minseok to high-five. She does, a satisfying slap echoing when their palms connect, marking the mutual joy they get from teasing Luhan.

“I will not stand for this!” Luhan declares in a British accent that she always claims is top-notch (it’s not, but neither Minseok nor Jongin bother to correct her anymore). Right as she passes the duo, they each grab an arm and bring her in, the three of them ending up in a three-way hug.

“I love you guys,” Minseok says. She can feel both of them tighten their grip around her.

“We love you, too.”

Luhan suddenly pulls back with a devious smile. “Now, let’s order some lunch.”

Within twenty minutes, their steaming hot bowls of noodles and plate of garlic bread arrive. The delivery girl walks away, an agitated tempo to her steps, brunette locks that are pulled back into a sleek ponytail swishing with each move.

“I told you that you shouldn’t do it,” Minseok states matter-of-factly.

“I still don’t understand. Wouldn’t someone be happy if they got complimented?”

Snorting, Jongin looks up at Luhan over his bowl of noodles. “Saying ‘Those pants make your ass look delectable’ is hardly acceptable, let alone a compliment.”

“It works with Minseok!” Luhan wails in despair.

“That’s only because you’re not seriously hitting on me. And I know you.”

“She has such pretty fingers, too. What I would give to have her alone for the night.” Luhan whistles sadly, forlornly looking at the door the girl had gone through minutes prior.

“I’m trying to eat here,” Jongin grumps, punctuating the sentence with a particularly large bite of garlic bread, followed by a loud slurp of noodles.

With a harrumph, Luhan turns to her own meal, Minseok smiling softly before doing the same.

Lunch passes by uneventfully after that, the trio immersed in the spices that are infused in the chicken and the broth that leaves their taste buds purring in happiness.

“I feel like I’m going to burst,” Jongin states on the way back to their desks from the break room.

“Well, if you hadn’t eaten all of that bread, maybe you wouldn’t feel that way,” Minseok comments.

The younger male fixes her with a stare. “It’s garlic bread,” he states, as if that’s enough of an explanation.

“It’s carbs,” Luhan adds.

“But garlic bread.”

Throwing her hands up, Luhan yells, “I give up!”

Minseok’s laugh gets cut off when they turn the corner, her eyes widening and jaw falling slack.

“Again?!” Luhan’s upset screech barely registers in Minseok’s ears, her only focus the arrangement of the scarlet petals situated right in the middle of her desk. The square glass vase shines when Minseok steps closer, but nothing compares to the vibrancy of the flowers themselves. There’s a darker shade of flowers in the middle of the lighter ones, Minseok gasping when she gets closer and finds that they’re organized in a heart.

“It’s so beautiful,” she whispers, delicately tracing a finger over a petal. The flower looks kind of chaotic, but at the same time, there’s order in the way the crumpled petals flow outwards. They remind Minseok of the paper flowers she used to make in school, folding the tissue paper as much as she could to get the best crinkles.

She plucks the card out from the middle of the arrangement, a smile forming on her face when she reads what’s written in Yixing’s pretty cursive script.

_Ah, red carnations. Such beauty in the physical appearance and the meaning. I hope that you have as much affection as I do~_

Minseok is only slightly disappointed in the note. Yixing said she had affection, but for what is unknown. Her immediate thought is that she wants Yixing’s affection all to herself, but quickly dispels the thought – flowers will always be important to the other girl and are probably what she’s referring to.

“It is,” Jongin agrees. He’s looking at the flowers intently, eyebrows angled down slightly.

A door opens nearby and for a few terrifying seconds, Minseok is rooted to the floor, brain going blank, eyes going wide.

“Nice flowers,” Chanyeol comments, shooting a smile full of teeth her way before continuing his way towards the elevator.

“Oh my God.”

“You can say that again,” Luhan says. Minseok barely realizes that she was the one that had just spoken, still in shock that Chanyeol had walked out. Not only was that the first time she’s seen him in days, but he saw her flowers, and he had been okay with it. That gives her the last push she needs to accept that her boss really is okay, that she hasn’t damaged him in a way that’s beyond repair. It makes her feel free, like a weight has been lifted off of her shoulders. Just to make sure, though, she makes a mental note to bake him something later. Minseok knows that he loves her baking, years of working in the office and bringing treats in only for him to devour them evidence enough.

When she finally comes back to her senses, Minseok notices that Luhan is next to her arrangement, trying to be sneaky as she looks for a flower to pluck out.

“Luhan!” Startled, said girl turns around with a sheepish smile on her face.

“I wasn’t going to steal a flower, I swear.”

Minseok raises an eyebrow. Luhan sighs in defeat. “Okay, fine, I was, but get off my back. They’re so pretty.”

The blonde looks so wistful as she stares at the arrangement that Minseok softens. “Okay, but only one.”

Luhan turns to her with shining eyes. “Do you mean it?”

She squeals when Minseok nods in affirmation. While Luhan is occupied with finding her perfect flower, Minseok notices that Jongin is now suspiciously gone.

The next day, when she hears the loud shriek Luhan lets out, she hurries over, thinking the worst has happened.

“What’s wrong? Are you bleeding? Did you fall over? Do you need to go to the hospital?” Minseok fires out question after question, extremely worried about her friend.

“Look!” Luhan seems perfectly fine physically and more than just fine emotionally. She looks radiant, a huge smile on her face as she turns to show Minseok her desk. Perched on the hardwood is an arrangement of dark red carnations, flecks of dark green from leaves and stalk infused as well. Despite feeling slightly upset that she ran all the way over there, Minseok is happy for the other girl. She knows how it feels to be on the receiving end of such a gift, especially one with a deep meaning like that. She doubts that Luhan knows what it symbolizes, but it doesn’t really matter; Luhan looks so delighted that it wouldn’t make a difference.

“I’m going to go get Jongin!” Luhan bounds off in excitement. Minseok smiles to herself. She has a feeling that Jongin already knows.

~✿~✿~✿~

“Did he really buy her flowers?”

“Oh please, I know that you made that arrangement,” Minseok says, side eyeing Yixing. The other looks away while whistling innocently, but it doesn’t fool Minseok.

“Okay, so maybe I did.”

“And the one that I received.”

Yixing responds with a glare that quickly melts under Minseok’s sad puppy face. “Fine, you win. I made that one, but Kyungsoo made the one for Luhan.”

“Who delivered it?” The question has been nagging at Minseok for the past few days. She thought that it might’ve been Kyungsoo, but there was nothing poisonous in either arrangement that she received. Joonmyun would’ve stayed and talked to Minseok, so it’s not her either. Yixing is always too busy managing the shop, so that leaves no one that she knows of.

“Delivery boys exist, you know,” Yixing says, an amused tone coating her words.

“You have a delivery boy?”

“Yeah, his name is Zitao.”

“How come I’ve never seen him?” Minseok is fairly certain that, with all the time she spends at the shop, she should’ve seen him by now.

“We don’t deliver after six. I don’t want Zitao to get into an accident.”

This reaffirms the fact that Yixing is an angel. Not that Minseok was doubting it anyways, but she didn’t think it was possible for the other to girl to be any more angelic than she already is. Minseok doesn’t mind being wrong.

“Everyone should have a boss like you,” Minseok says.

A pretty blush appears on Yixing’s cheeks. “It’s not- I just- I like to know that my employees are healthy and safe.”

Minseok’s only response is, “Cute,” finding the other girl’s stuttering adorable. It doesn’t come out often, mostly when she’s flustered, but that makes it all the more endearing.

“Stop,” Yixing whines, hiding her face behind her palms in despair. Minseok fights the urge to peck her on the cheek, but it’s difficult. She wants to be able to cuddle with Yixing without worrying, she wants to be able to coo at Yixing freely, she wants to be able to kiss Yixing when she does something cute to make her more embarrassed. Instead, she just laughs, knowing that it isn’t enough to convey her feelings, but all that she can give for the moment.

“You like making fun of me,” Yixing accuses, lowering her hands to show her narrowed eyes.

“I like a lot of things, but that doesn’t mean that is one of them,” Minseok responds.

“Lies!”

Minseok laughs again. “You sound just like Luhan. She always complains that Jongin and I gang up on her.”

“Probably because it’s true,” the auburn-haired girl grumbles.

Tapping her chin in thought, Minseok says, “It is.”

“A-ha!”

“But that doesn’t mean that applies here.”

“Minseok!” Yixing whines. A bubble of laughter escapes Minseok again. She can’t help it; the way Yixing speaks without care brings a smile to Minseok’s face, giggles following suit easily.

“I’m standing by my statement.”

“Watch, I’ll catch you in the act one day. I don’t care how long it takes,” Yixing vows. Minseok barely has enough self control to hold back choking on her spit. She may be interpreting things incorrectly, but that sure sounded like a promise to stay with Minseok for an extended period of time. Minseok’s heart does a flip in her chest. Her stomach threatens to follow suit if Yixing says anything else.

“We’ll see,” is all that Minseok manages to get out, but she thinks it a plus considering the alternative _Please go out with me_ that she wants to blurt out.

It’s apparently not a good enough answer for Yixing, for the other girl puts her pout on full-force when she turns to Minseok. The only thing the brunette can do is let out a pained groan, the cute too much for her to handle. Yixing’s cheeks look so fluffy, her eyes so large, her lips so plump, that Minseok is seconds away from doing something unfortunate like kissing her. Nails digging into her palms, she tells herself over and over again that she can’t do anything if she wants to appear normal and not like she wants to jump Yixing at any moment. Simple? Yes. Possible? Questionable.

“This actually relates to the flower for the day,” Yixing suddenly announces, pout gone and replaced with a smile that shines brighter than the stars. “This is Violet.”

Minseok raises an eyebrow at the purple flower that Yixing plucks out of a bouquet. “I can see that.”

“Hush, Violet is the name of the flower,” Yixing elaborates. Minseok flushes a healthy shade of scarlet that the other girl giggles at. “It signifies faithfulness, that I’ll always be there for you when you need me.”

There’s a small smile on Minseok’s face as she gazes at the flower. It looks like five amethyst lily-pads surrounding the sun. Minseok feels like she’s the lily-pads with Yixing as the sun instead of the other way around like Yixing’s saying.

“I think,” Minseok starts to clear her throat, thick with emotions, “that you should keep the bouquet.”

“Why?” Yixing looks incredibly upset now. The hand that is holding the flower drops limply to the counter, her eyes widening just slightly. If Minseok looks hard enough, she might be able to see the water that’s starting to gather, but she’s quick to explain herself.

“Because I want you to know that I’ll always be there for you, too. If you ever need anything, I’ll be there, no matter the circumstances.”

Her plan to prevent Yixing from crying backfires, trails of tears flowing down the other girl’s cheeks. Yixing reaches up to wipe them off with an embarrassed chuckle. “I’m sorry. It’s just that no one has ever said something like that to me before. It means a lot.”

Minseok places her hand on top of Yixing’s on the counter, the flower still clutched in her fingers delicately. She doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t need to, knows that Yixing understands what she’s trying to convey that she can’t adequately express with words.

They sit like that for a while, the sound of their hearts beating together too low for human ears to capture. Stealthily, Minseok takes the flower from Yixing’s grasp, twirling it lightly as she peers at it. “I’ll keep this one, though. I know just where to put it.”

“Where?”

Minseok smiles slightly. “Secret.” _I hope that you’ll understand one day._

Yixing pouts, but concedes with a sighed “Fine.” _I’ll find out one day._

Minseok doesn’t want to go, but her watch is screaming at her to get home so she can finish looking over the reports for tomorrow’s meeting with Mr. Lee. So it’s with a sad wave that she leaves, the flower carefully enclosed in her hand so she doesn’t squish the petals.

“I’ll see you next week.”

“Bye bye, pretty girl.” Yixing waves, her dimple barely showing with how little her lips lift up in the corners.

With one last wave and a blush that she hopes the other girl doesn’t see, Minseok is off to the parking lot and to her home. After one quick trip to the kitchen, she plucks her special book from the shelf, the red carnation from two days ago greeting her for a split second when she looks for a clean page. The sight brings a smile to her face, one that grows with the new addition when she’s done writing down the flower’s information.

It’s a smile that stays on her face as she cracks her knuckles and gets to work on sorting through her emails. It feels nice to know that there’s someone cheering her on, even from a distance. It’s all she needs to power through her work and fall asleep earlier than she anticipated.

~✿~✿~✿~

“What do you think, Jongin?” The blonde rounds on the male, eyes wide with curiosity.

“Um, well, I don’t know. She’s, um, very pretty, I guess, but there are other pretty girls in the office, too.”

Minseok feels bad for the poor guy. For the past ten minutes, Luhan has been rambling on and on about the new intern, Sehun, from the way her light blonde hair had shone in the ugly office lighting to the way her fingers had curled around the phone when she went to answer it with a bright tone despite the stoic look on her face. Luhan’s words, not hers.

“Aye, I know Minseok is pretty. You don’t need to tell me something I already know,” Luhan responds, waving her hand in dismissal.

Minseok is just amused by the whole thing because while Luhan can be extremely blunt about what she’s feeling, she’s terrible at reading others.

“I don’t think-” Minseok starts, only to be cut off by the other girl.

“Please, out of every girl in this office, you’re the most attractive. Excluding me, of course.”

There’s no use arguing with Luhan when she becomes entirely convinced about something, so Minseok drops it with a sigh that she hopes doesn’t come out as exasperated as she feels.

“I think I’m going to go talk to her,” Luhan announces, flouncing off happily before either Jongin or Minseok can say anything.

“Jongin...”

“No, it’s fine.” Minseok can tell that he’s anything but fine if his stiff shoulders and blank eyes are anything to go by. She doesn’t demand for him to continue, though – if Jongin doesn’t pry, she can do the same for him.

“Okay, but if you need someone-” She’s cut off for the second time in three minutes, Jongin smiling at her in understanding.

“You’ll be there, I know.” The chuckle he lets out is a little rough around the edges, but still the soft tone that Minseok loves.

Minseok has just wrapped Jongin in a hug when a voice calls out behind them.

“What did I miss?” Luhan wonders, plopping down on Minseok’s chair, spinning a few times.

“Sehun, it seems, considering you’re back already,” Minseok says, hoping that Luhan takes the bait. She doesn’t want to have to lie to the other girl, but she can’t tell her what actually happened without throwing Jongin under the bus.

Thankfully, Luhan latches on, a frown pulling the corners of her lips down. “Yeah, I think she went for lunch or something. I saw a box of chocolate on her desk, though.” She narrows her eyes. “I swear, Jongdae better not be making a move on her.”

“And if he is?”

“Then I’ll pray for her soul. She seems too sweet to have to deal with him.”

Jongin snorts in amusement. “He’s not even that bad. A little snarky, sure, but he’s fun to be around.”

“Here I thought you were going to say you were going to ask Sehun out,” Minseok interjects before the other girl can go on her usual rant about how illegally tight Jongdae’s pants are and how there’s _no way_ he gets any circulation below his waist. And his piercings - Luhan abhors those for reasons Minseok will never understand either.

“Nah, she’s only been here for a few days. I know nothing about her.” Luhan waves the matter away. “Speaking of relationships.” Suddenly, Minseok is on the receiving end of a Luhan smile, also known as Trouble with a capital No Good. “What are you doing with Yixing? Any progress?”

Minseok bites her lip, hesitant to say anything, but if she doesn’t talk to someone soon, she’s going to explode. “I think I’m going to ask her out tomorrow.”

Jongin’s eyes bulge out while Luhan looks like she’s choking on something. Minseok is grateful Luhan didn’t just take a sip of something, because she would be on the very cliché receiving end of a spit-out drink at the moment.

Minseok’s shoulders slump. “I knew it was a bad idea.” Their reactions were all that she needed to see.

“No, no, no,” Luhan is quick to interject. “I just wasn’t expecting you to say that.” Jongin nods his agreement.

Biting her lip, she looks at them with a hopeful expression. “So you don’t think it’s a bad idea?”

“Why would it be?” Jongin asks. “You like her, right?”

Minseok is scared to admit that it might already be on the way to becoming more than that, but nods her head anyways.

“And she likes you.” Luhan continues despite Minseok’s squawk of denial, “So you should definitely go on with the plan.”

“But-”

“If you _dare_ say that she doesn’t like you even the slightest bit, I will seriously smack you,” Luhan growls.

“Are you sure?” she asks in a small voice.

Luhan softens. “Look, love. No one would send you flowers or give you lessons on the beauty of flowers if they didn’t want to be with you, platonically or not. Think about all of those flowers you have at home and I think you’ll find your answer.”

They make it sound so simple and yet Minseok is still questioning it. Could it be that someone like Yixing - sweet, perfect Yixing - could possibly like someone like her? It seems more than a little surreal, yet the more Jongin and Luhan talk to her, the more she’s starting to see it until there’s nothing but confidence flowing through her veins. Minseok thinks about all of the smiles, all of the conversations, all of the moments where she felt like her heart was going to burst from all of the affection, all of the happiness that surrounds her when she’s with Yixing, and comes to her conclusion.

“I’ll do it.”

“You’ll be fine,” Jongin assures, signature radiant smile on his face.

Luhan nods from where she’s sitting. “I expect details when you get the girl of your dreams.”

Minseok smiles. That doesn’t sound too bad at all.

~✿~✿~✿~

Confidence, it turns out, is fleeting.

The next day, Minseok finds herself sitting in her car, blankly staring ahead to try and clear her mind of all negative thoughts that crop up. She knows that if she doesn’t do it, she will regret it, yet she’s scared.

It scares her how much she wants Yixing. It scares her because she barely knows the other girl at all. It scares her because there are a lot of things that she doesn’t know. But the one thing she _does_ know is the fact that she can’t picture her life without Yixing as someone that she loves and that loves her back, and that’s enough for her to want to try.

With determination that she hopes stays around until she at least confesses to Yixing, Minseok gets out of her car and walks into the shop. The familiar ringing of the bell calms her nerves slightly, the smell of freshly cut flowers permeating the air giving her a sense of peace.

One deep breath later and Yixing is suddenly walking out from the back room. A smile lights up her face, Minseok falling just a little more at the way the other girl’s dimple peeks out, the way her eyes shine like the stars, the way she seems genuinely happy to see Minseok.

“Hi,” Yixing greets, the smile never leaving her face.

“Hi...Yixing,” Minseok breathes, still a little light-headed from the greeting she received and what she’s about to do.

"Anything in particular today before we start?" Yixing asks.

"Yes, actually. Do you have tulips? Preferably a bouquet and in red, yellow, and pink," Minseok says, hoping that Yixing can't tell just how nervous she is right now.

Yixing looks kind of confused at the request, but doesn't say anything, just walks to the glass doors. Minseok feels like she’s going to pass out in the seconds it takes Yixing to search. It’s entirely too soon when Yixing pulls out a pretty bundle of flowers, plastic already on the bottom, a pink bow tied around it. She smiles, "I’ll go ring them up for you.”

Never before in her life has Minseok felt so nervous. Her stomach is simultaneously trying to tie itself in knots and dispel itself from her body. Her palms are sweating. Her mouth feels like she just ate a jar of of peanut butter. Her legs are barely functioning. Somehow, miraculously, she makes it to the counter and through the payment process. When Yixing hands the receipt over, she says, “Nice choice. These mean-"

"I know what they mean," Minseok cuts her off, heart hammering so hard that she can barely focus on anything else. She points to the pink ones. “Caring.” Her hands shake when she touches the yellow petals. “Hopelessly in love.” And finally, eyes flickering up from the red flowers to meet Yixing’s, “Declaration of love.”

The only thing that Minseok sees is Yixing’s eyes widening. She refuses to back down now; she needs Yixing to know how serious she is about this. If she gets rejected, at least she can say that she tried her best and walk away with no regrets (just a broken heart).

“I-I...Oh, Minseok.”

Wincing, Minseok drops her gaze. That tone didn’t sound very positive, not to mention the fact that Yixing used her real name.

She is a second away from walking out the door when a thin finger tilts her chin up. There is a light shade of rose on the apple’s of the other girls cheeks, eyes crinkled up in joy. “Do you really think that I’m rejecting you?”

Minseok doesn’t speak, her heart caught in her throat. Yixing knocks her forehead against Minseok’s gently with a light laugh. “I’ve been waiting for this day for a while now,” she whispers. Minseok can feel the words fan out across her lips, Yixing is so close. When the words finally register, she lets out a sob, pulling Yixing close to wrap her in a hug that Minseok hopes conveys everything that she’s feeling. She feels like she’s flying when Yixing wraps her arms around her waist, when Yixing presses a kiss to her cheek, when she feels the ghost of a smile against her skin when Yixing rests her head against Minseok’s collarbones.

“Thank you,” Minseok says, knowing that there is never going to be words to accurately describe how _happy_ she is, but trying anyways.

Yixing seems to understand what she’s trying to convey, for she squeezes Minseok before whispering, “Thank _you._ ”

~✿~✿~✿~

“You didn’t kiss her?!”

“Calm down, Luhan.”

“How can I when you didn’t even go for the gold? Why the hell would you settle for silver?”

“Because sometimes, you don’t need to do everything at once. Sometimes, you just need to wait until your eyes are wide open and see what’s right in front of you. Sometimes, you just need to take it slow and let everything play out the way it’s supposed to.”

~✿~✿~✿~

~✿~✿~✿~

“Minseokkie.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I look through your phone?”

“Sure,” Minseok responds from the kitchen. She knows that Yixing can hear her from the living room, so she doesn’t bother raising her voice.

“Minseokkie,” comes again not a minute later.

Laughing, Minseok responds with a, “Yeah?”

“Can I change my profile picture on your phone?”

“Go ahead.” Minseok doesn’t know what Yixing will even change it to (or what she was even looking at in the first place), but anything is better than the plain shadow of a person that it currently displays.

“Minseokkie.” This time, the voice sounds much closer. Minseok finds out that her observation is true when she turns around, Yixing standing right under the doorframe.

There’s a confused expression donning Yixing’s face. “Something wrong?” Minseok wonders.

“I can’t find my contact in the ‘Y’ section.” Yixing’s pout is downright deadly, but what’s even more deadly is the blush that quickly rises up to Minseok’s cheeks.

“Here, I’ll change it for you. What do you want?” Minseok just hopes that Yixing doesn’t hear the nervous lilt to her voice.

Now Yixing looks curious, her eyes wide and questioning as she looks at the brunette. Minseok is about to ask for her phone again when Yixing tilts her head cutely. Minseok is doomed.

With a defeated sigh, she murmurs Yixing’s contact name. It causes the other girl to step closer, asking her to repeat it.

Minseok mumbles it again. Once again, Yixing steps closer. By the time Minseok says it loud enough, Yixing is no more than a foot away and with one more step, they would be toe-to-toe, face-to-face, nose-to-nose.

When Yixing parts her lips to speak, Minseok zones in on her mouth, belatedly snapping out of it when she realizes that Yixing is saying something.

“Flower Angel, huh?” Yixing has this gleam in her eyes like she always does when she’s teasing, but more than that, there’s a spark of affection and a flood of joy.

“It’s only fair that I give you a nickname when you made one for me,” Minseok tries to defend herself, backing up when Yixing takes a step forward.

“If you make a nickname, you’re supposed to share it with the other person, not keep it locked away.”

Minseok can’t respond, not that she has something to say anyway. Yixing is now as close as she can possibly get without touching Minseok, a fact that steals all of her attention.

“Minseokkie?”

“Yeah?”

Yixing doesn’t respond, just closes the gap between their mouths. This isn’t the first kiss they’ve had since they started going out six months ago, but Minseok feels a spark every time. She’ll never get enough of the way Yixing presses her lips against Minseok’s firmly before pulling back slightly, nipping her lip before soothing the sting with a swipe of her tongue.

Minseok has to gasp for air when Yixing pulls back, chest rapidly rising and falling to compensate for the oxygen that Yixing just kissed out of her.

“My pretty girl,” Yixing whispers fondly, thumb tracing Minseok’s bottom lip softly. The brunette can feel her cheeks heating up as they’re wont to do whenever Yixing does something like speak, or stare, or exist.

With one last peck, Yixing skips away, Minseok’s phone still clutched in her hand.

When Minseok goes to check her phone later after Yixing leaves, she can’t help the gasp she lets out, her heart giving a strong thump. Positioned in Yixing’s hair is a symbol of loyal love, the thin petals of the white Chrysanthemum (that she must have plucked from the vase sitting on Minseok’s coffee table) contrasting with her auburn locks beautifully, a bright smile on her face as she looks into the camera.

Yixing truly is a flower angel.

~✿~✿~✿~

Minseok takes a bite of her chocolate chip muffin, chasing it down with a sip of milk with a content hum. It’s just a normal Saturday morning, the sun high in the sky as it shines through the windows. Yixing is still asleep, despite it being almost eleven in the morning. The other girl has always been a late riser, content to just lay in bed a little longer before starting the day (although Minseok woke up half an hour ago, so she can’t say anything).

Minseok loves being able to see Yixing stumble out of their room, sleepily rubbing at her eyes as she tries to keep herself awake and not run into anything. Yixing is also extremely clingy before and after going to sleep, a fact that Minseok happily found out after they moved in together.

The door to their bedroom opens just as she thinks about seeing Yixing, the other girl dragging her feet over the carpet before plopping down on Minseok’s right with a yawn. Her white oversized t-shirt is slipping off her left shoulder, her wavy, auburn hair covering it so barely any skin is showing. Minseok still thinks she looks beautiful.

"How is it that you still look angelic even though you just woke up and haven't even brushed your hair yet?" Minseok muses, playing with a perfect little curl of Yixing's locks.

Yawning once more, the other girl turns to her with a questioning hum, eyes barely open. Minseok chuckles, reaching over to get the mug perched on their coffee table to hand to the other girl.

“You’re the best,” Yixing says, gratefully taking a sip of the caffeinated beverage.

“I try,” Minseok answers teasingly, earning a little jab to the ribs. Minseok takes a harsh breath in dramatically, clutching her side in pain. Her theatrics have the other girl giggling in no time, Minseok smiling in response to such a pretty melody.

“I love you,” she says before she can stop it. Minseok slaps a hand over her mouth in shock, wide eyes staring into Yixing’s equally as large orbs. Neither of them have ever said those words out loud to each other before, despite their year and a half anniversary coming right around the corner. Minseok was planning on telling her then, with the perfect backdrop as they laid on a blanket under the stars, but now it’s all ruined because of her stupid mouth.

It’s a mouth that is suddenly occupied for a few seconds by a pair of plush lips before Yixing is pulling back, eyes shining lightly. “I love you, too.”

And Minseok swears that the world stops right then and there, everything irrelevant compared to the girl in her arms and in her heart. Despite the fact that she has morning breath, some sleep left in her eyes, and she’s not even properly dressed, Yixing still loves her anyways. If that isn’t enough to make her content for the rest of her life, she doesn’t know what will.

The red roses on their coffee table shine beautifully in the light as they share another sweet kiss.

~✿~✿~✿~

“Would you stop it?”

Minseok abruptly stops walking, shrinking under Luhan’s murderous gaze.

“I didn’t spend three hours working on your hair and makeup for you to ruin it with your panicked sweating.” The blonde huffs irritably.

Minseok sends her a sheepish smile, hands twisting in the white fabric of her dress. “I’m sorry. Just nervous, you know?”

Luhan’s expression softens out until a light smile is gracing her face. “I know, I was there once, too, remember?”

Minseok thinks about her book of flowers at home and the baby pink peony from Luhan’s wedding bouquet situated in the pages. She thinks about how lively Luhan had looked as she looked into Jongin’s eyes and said, “I do.” She thinks about how Luhan had teased her and Yixing about how they were getting married before them even though her and Jongin hadn’t been together for as long. She thinks about how the shade of her cheeks had matched the flowers when the bouquet landed in her arms after Luhan had tossed it. She thinks about how her heart had fluttered as she looked at Yixing, the same fluttering that is present now, except this time, it’s her that’s getting married.

A knock on the door has her heart picking up speed double-time. Kyungsoo pokes her head in, a pretty, heart-shaped smile appearing on her lips once she spies Minseok. “You look gorgeous.”

It’s kind of hard to believe that the same girl that used to angrily snip flowers in her presence is one of her bridesmaids and a very close friend. Once Kyungsoo was placated that Minseok wouldn’t break Yixing’s heart, it was actually easy to get close to the other girl, as they had much more in common than Minseok had ever thought.

A natural blush appears under Minseok’s make-up. “Thank you. You look very pretty as well.” And the other girl does, the dusty rose knee-length dress complementing her obsidian locks perfectly. Dare Minseok say it, the other girl might look prettier than her.

Kyungsoo rolls her eyes. “Before you think it, no I do not look better than you. Luhan did a beautiful job and you make the dress look beautiful. Yixing will love it.”

At the mention of her soon-to-be-wife, Minseok feels a flutter in her stomach that makes its way up to her chest, extending to every part of her body. Just thinking about how angelic Yixing will look in her wedding dress has Minseok bouncing in anticipation.

“Yes, yes, everyone looks great,” Luhan says, standing up, her own dress swishing against her knees gently. “Now let’s get you to the altar so you and Yixing can drool over each other in public.”

With a fond roll of her eyes, Minseok checks the mirror one last time to make sure everything is in place before taking Luhan’s hand and walking out the door. Luhan must notice how nervous Minseok is, for she feels a squeeze to her hand. The blonde doesn’t say anything more, just sends Minseok a quick smile. Then before Minseok knows it, she’s standing behind the doors that will led her outside and to her angel, Joonmyun, Kyungsoo, and Luhan ready and waiting in line before her. Minseok’s grip on her bouquet tightens.

“Minseok,” someone calls out.

A smile lights up her face. “Dad.”

Her father gives her a huge grin, pulling her into a loose hug as to not ruin her dress. “Look at you. My little girl is all grown up.”

“Please, Dad,” Minseok says. “I’ve been grown up for a while.”

“I know, I just didn’t want to believe it.” There’s a light sheen to his eyes as he looks her over, but more than that, there’s pride and happiness.

“Don’t cry. It’ll ruin your make-up,” Minseok jests. It elicits a chuckle and a soft swipe to the arm from her father.

At that moment, Minseok hears soft music coming from the other side of the door, causing her heart to beat in her throat and her palms to sweat.

“Don’t be nervous. Be happy, because you’ll be married to the love of your life soon,” Joonmyun encourages with a sweet smile.

Minseok feels tears prick behind her eyes, but smiles back nonetheless. “Thank you, Joonmyun.”

With a wink, Joonmyun turns back around, her own bouquet secure in her hands.

Following the non-traditional wedding, Luhan goes out first, her little girl clutching the maid of honor’s hand for dear life, the basket of flowers in the other. Minseok sees Luhan’s daughter shyly let go of her mother’s hand to throw a handful of flowers on the ground before Kyungsoo is walking out. Joonmyun is the last of the three to go, sending Minseok one quick smile over her shoulder before walking forward, looking elegant in the simple bridesmaid dress just like the other two girls.

“Ready?” Minseok’s dad whispers, holding his arm out for Minseok to take.

“I am,” she says and she means it, the nerves from before long gone and replaced with a kind of warmth that only Yixing can give her.

The Wedding march plays, everyone standing up to look towards the door (except Jongin, who, Minseok notices with a snort, is dutifully looking at his wife and daughter with an affectionate grin). 

There’s a small, collective gasp when she walks out, but all that Minseok notices is Yixing, her beautiful bride who looks even more beautiful under the archway of white and light red carnations. But what causes Minseok’s breath to catch in her throat the most is how utterly gorgeous Yixing looks in her strapless dress, from the way her midsection looks incredibly slim due to the jeweled flower design there, to the way the dress flows out around her feet, tiny little flowered details stitched onto the bottom portion. A broad grin appears on Minseok’s face when she spies the Gardenia flower crown perched on Yixing’s hair, her matching one feeling light atop her own head.

Minseok spots her mom in the front row, a tissue already dabbing at her eyes. Yixing’s parents are next to her, warm smiles and joyful expressions on their faces as they watch their soon-to-be daughter-in-law.

Before she knows it, Minseok is right in front of Yixing, her dad giving her hand a quick squeeze before he’s gone.

“Calla lilies, huh? Is this why you insisted on picking out the bouquet?” Yixing wonders, fingers intertwining with Minseok’s naturally.

Minseok nods sheepishly. “I thought they were appropriate.”

They walk a few steps forward towards the minister. “Magnificence and beauty, perfect for a Wedding bouquet. I’ve taught you well,” Yixing says, a twinkle in her eye that’s reserved only for Minseok.

The ceremony is quick per their request, the minister having them repeat his words before giving his blessing. They’ve both decided to give their vows last, Yixing going first with a quick clear of her throat.

“My pretty girl,” she starts off, Minseok’s cheeks flaming much to her chagrin. “It seems surreal how, after all the time we took, after all of the flowers we exchanged, after all of the pushing that we needed, we’re finally getting married. Standing here in front of you, though, with how utterly breath-taking you look, I know that I made the right decision to call you pretty that day and every day after it. Because even when we’re old, wrinkly, and probably won’t be able to walk anymore,” this gets a laugh out of the crowd and Minseok, “I will still say thank you.” Her eyes sparkle with their hidden code.

Minseok doesn’t know how she’s going to follow that, but she recites her speech anyways, looking straight into Yixing’s eyes. “When I walked into your store all of those years ago, I never thought that this would be our future. Actually,” Minseok pauses for effect before a smile breaks out on her face. “I did. I knew right then and there that we were going to have a beautiful life together, although it would never be able to compare to how beautiful you were, you are, and you will be. There’s nothing else that I could ever ask for that will make me as happy as you make me, and for that, I just want to say thank you.”

There are so many other things that she wants to say, but she doesn’t. It’s not because they don’t have time, because when they’re with each other they have all the time in the world, but because Minseok doesn’t need to say it. Yixing has never needed words to understand Minseok. It’s one of the reasons they fit so perfectly together.

The minister declares them officially married, his exclamation that she can kiss the bride falling on deaf ears. Minseok and Yixing are already leaning forward to meet in the middle for a sweet kiss that leaves Minseok reeling. They pull back to the claps of their family and friends. Minseok laughs when she notices Chanyeol standing and hollering enthusiastically, his deep voice booming across the field. From beside her, Minseok can hear Kyungsoo mutter, “Idiot,” although it’s said very affectionately.

They take a short break in Minseok’s dressing room (which consists of a lot of cuddling and kisses and whispers of love) before heading out to the reception. They sit through speeches from their friends, as well as embarrassing stories that have Yixing and Minseok hiding their faces in mortification alike, before it’s time for their father-daughter dances.

“My daughter,” Minseok’s dad says affectionately, laugh lines around his eyes appearing when he smiles. He twirls Minseok around delicately, the brunette raising her eyebrows at him.

“Since when do you know how to dance?”

“I’ll have you know that I was quite the dancer in the day,” her dad exclaims indignantly. Minseok knows he’s pretending to sound angry, but all she can detect is a childish tone. From the corner of her eye, she can see Yixing and her father twirling around effortlessly, the sight bringing a smile to her face.

“You’ve been trying to tell me that for years, Dad. I still don’t believe it.”

“What kind of world is it when a daughter doesn’t listen to her own father?” he cries out, Minseok giggling in response.

“Your world, apparently.”

Before he can respond, Yixing’s father is tapping on his shoulder. Minseok’s dad sighs. “I’ll get back at you later.”

Minseok rolls her eyes fondly before taking Yixing’s dad’s offered hand, the two of them settling into a nice sway.

“You make her happy, you know?”

Minseok blushes. “I’m sure that she makes me more happy.”

It’s with affection that he looks down at her. “No, trust me. I’ve never seen her smile so much or enjoy herself as much as when she’s around you. You’re like her sun, a never-ending source of energy and warmth.”

Sputtering, Minseok tries to tell him that she feels the exact same way, but he’s bowing and walking away with a smile before she can. From across the dance floor, there are caramel orbs staring straight at her, sucking her in until the next thing she knows, she’s in Yixing’s arms. A slower song plays in the background, the opening piano melody washing over Minseok like a wave until she feels at peace. Yixing is the one that leads them around the dance floor with arms around her waist, Minseok’s looped around her neck, foreheads touching and eyes locked. Minseok can’t help but close the distance between them, placing a quick kiss to Yixing’s lips that has the crowd cheering. It causes Minseok’s cheeks to heat up, but she pushes everything else away except for the angel in front of her.

“My pretty girl doesn’t look so pretty anymore,” Yixing suddenly says. “She looks ethereal.”

The complaint on the tip of Minseok’s tongue dies out at the end of Yixing’s sentence, the scarlet tint to her cheeks coming back full-force.

“Don’t deny it. This dress was made for you.” Yixing lightly runs a hand through the layered fabric on Minseok’s left side, fingers skimming over the sewn-on flower patterns an inch above where the layer cut off and sits on top of another layer. There’s four layers in total, each shorter than the last, starting from the floor and looking up. Minseok would be lying if she said she didn’t feel like a princess in the dress, especially with the way the train flows out behind her for a few feet and the way the beadwork on the front of the dress makes her waist look thin. That still doesn’t mean that she thinks she’s prettier than Yixing, who looks like the personification of angelic in her own dress, which is something that she tells the other girl. It earns her a bashful smile, Yixing ducking her head into Minseok’s neck to hide her face. Minseok shivers, but not from the fact that the movement causes air to hit her bare shoulders.

They stay like that until the piano melody drifts off, Minseok whispering sweet nothing’s into the other girl’s ear. It feels nice to not be on the receiving end of teasing every once in a while.

After they untangle themselves, Yixing takes her hand as they make their rounds to thank everyone for coming. Jongin beams before engulfing them in hugs when he finds them, Luhan trailing behind with their little girl attached to her hip. Chanyeol is extremely loud when he congratulates them, Kyungsoo looking a tad bit embarrassed at his side, but it makes Yixing and Minseok laugh. Zitao pecks Yixing’s cheek when they get to him, murmuring something that Minseok doesn’t catch, before he hugs Minseok. Joonmyun has a knowing smile on her face when they finally make it to her. “I knew this day would come. I’m so happy for the both of you,” she says, squeezing their hands before she shoos them off to stop talking to her and go eat. Minseok’s tummy grumbles in agreement, allowing Yixing to tug her back to their table with eyes full of mirth.

Minseok gets her revenge when she smashes a piece of cake into Yixing’s face, laughing out loud at the other girl’s stupefied expression.

Not one to be outdone, Yixing makes sure that Minseok knows what she’s in for when she scrapes her teeth over Minseok’s inner thigh when she goes to take the garter off. Minseok makes sure to blow a hot stream of air over the girl’s folds when it’s her turn, sitting back with a smirk, garter dangling from her teeth as she looks up at her wife with fire in her eyes. Yixing’s eyes darken in response, the message in her eyes crystal clear to Minseok.

“I love you,” Minseok whispers later that night once they’re in bed, naked bodies wrapped around each other.

“I love you, too,” Yixing responds, sending Minseok a sleepy smile that causes the brunette’s heart to thump. Minseok places one last kiss to Yixing’s shoulder, wraps her arms around her wife, and gets comfortable, loving the fact that this is what her life will be like from now on.

~✿~✿~✿~

It’s a cold winter day when Minseok stumbles upon her little book of flowers. Eyes softening, she shuffles over to the couch, slowly sitting down (her knees haven’t been the best in the last thirty years). She pauses for a few seconds, just running a hand over the cover. She remembers making this book, back when she was still young and stupid, lightly laughing at the memory of how long it actually took her to confess to Yixing.

After curling up in the corner of the couch, she opens the cover, lips curling up when she sees the first flower. One by one, she turns the pages, getting lost in the splashes of color against the cream paper and the memories they bring back. Have they really been married for forty years? Minseok feels like it was just yesterday when she bought that first arrangement of sunflowers.

“Pretty girl?”

She looks up to see Yixing closing the sliding glass door, a smudge of dirt on her cheek, greying hair pulled back in a bun, cheeks red from the biting cold. With a fond sigh, Minseok motions her wife over, delicately wiping the dirt away. She’ll never understand how Yixing is still able to tend to their flower garden in the backyard at this age.

“What are you doing?” There’s a curious expression on Yixing’s face as she peers down at the book in Minseok’s hand. It’s then that she realizes that she’s never shown her wife the book. She tries to hide it, but it’s too late, Yixing plopping down next to her with a pout and large, sad eyes. Even now, Yixing’s cute expressions reduce Minseok to a puddle.

So it’s with a sigh that she brings the book back out to give to Yixing, the other girl looking through it delicately.

“Wow. I never knew that you would do something like this,” Yixing comments, a soft look on her face as she lightly traces a finger over the Bachelor Button.

“It was the only way to make sure that I would never forget you or all of the times that you made me happy.” Minseok’s smile is cheeky when the other girl swats at her with a blush, but the pretty smile that Minseok fell in love with is on her face.

“Wait,” Minseok suddenly exclaims, eyes zeroing in on the next page.

“What?” Yixing asks, eyebrows furrowed.

“This flower...” Minseok starts, scanning the page, blank save for the date and the flower with a dark middle, pink petals rounding out at the top to form a point. “What is it? You sent them to me at work, but you never told me its name or what it means.”

“I could’ve sworn I did,” Yixing says thoughtfully. She shrugs. “Well, it’s an Anemone.”

“And?” Minseok prompts, earning tinkling laughter from her wife.

“I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out. They symbolize anticipation, since we still hadn’t had our first lesson yet.”

“Hold on.” Minseok puts a finger up before scurrying to the kitchen to grab a pen. Neatly, she prints the information down in the book when she returns, a satisfied smile on her face. Yixing just looks incredibly amused by the whole thing. Minseok pointedly ignores the look in favor of cuddling back into Yixing’s side so they can continue to look through the book together.

They don’t get very far; just one page later has Yixing putting a hand out. “Remember this flower?”

“Yeah,” Minseok answers, slightly confused. “It’s a Gardenia, meaning purity and sweetness. You put one in my hair. It was the first time you called me ‘pretty girl’.” Her cheeks heat up at the memory, of how startled she had been when Yixing had leaned forward to find the perfect spot in her hair to place the flower.

There’s a secretive smile on Yixing’s face. “That’s not all they mean.”

Minseok feels like she’s going to burst with impatience when Yixing stops there, the curve of her lips never dropping. She is about to resort to tickling her wife when she speaks, Minseok practically combusting when the sentence registers. “It means secret love as well.”

Numbly, Minseok looks at the page. “You gave that to me on April 17th.”

“Yes.”

“I gave you the tulips on June 19th.”

“Yes.”

“You loved me already?!” Minseok is reeling. She had agonized over everything for months and yet it now turns out that she never had to worry in the first place?

“I didn’t want to scare you off,” Yixing explains. “What would you do if you loved someone without even really knowing them? It’s terrifying, not knowing what will happen, so I just waited, hoping and praying that you would stay by my side.”

Minseok can definitely relate to that, thinking back on all of the nights she stayed up with Yixing in her head, all of the encouraging hugs and words Luhan had given her, all of the fear that she had.

“Everything worked out in the end and that’s all that matters,” Minseok says, pecking her wife on the lips to prove her statement.

“Remember our first date?” Yixing suddenly wonders.

“How could I forget?” Minseok asks, her heart fluttering just a little at the memory, remembering just how loved she had felt.

“It was your birthday, not even planned.” Yixing lets out a laugh. “My hands were shaking and I thought that I was going to go crazy.”

“You just showed up on my doorstep with a bouquet of daffodils, took my hand, and led me to the ice rink,” Minseok continues. The image of a blushing Yixing on her doorstep, looking small and shy holding a handful of yellow flowers, is still stuck with her to this day.

“After clutching onto your hand the whole date because I didn’t know how to skate that well, I took you home,” Yixing recalls, Minseok feeling a bubble of love in her chest because only Yixing would bring someone ice skating without ever having done it, just to see a smile on the other person’s face. “I told you that daffodils were the flower of March, and that they meant the sun was always shining when I was around you, before scurrying off with a quick goodbye.” By now, Yixing’s cheeks are colored, a rare occurrence (Minseok is _still_ the one getting teased more often. Even after decades of being with Yixing, she’s still not good at comebacks).

“I still think the flowers for your month suit you more.” Minseok flips to the page with the orange flower on it, lightly tracing the words on the page with a soft smile.

_Marigold, the October birth flower. It means that you’re content with being with the recipient, that you have undying love for that person, that they make you feel warm. Given to Yixing on October 7._

Yixing starts protesting, Minseok quieting her with a kiss. Fireworks still go off in her head, the same buzz still flows through her body, the same lips press against hers only to pull back, nipping her bottom lip before soothing the sting with a swipe of a tongue. It’s still the same girl that she fell in love with, still the same girl that taught her the beauty of flowers, still the same girl that took her heart and gave hers in return. It’s still the same smile that she gets when they pull back from the kiss, the same declaration of love that she gives, the same declaration that she gets in return.

Minseok tosses the book onto the coffee table, bringing her wife in to cuddle, using the weather as an excuse. Yixing sees right through her tactics, but settles down anyways, never one to refuse her wife. As they get cozy, the book on the table lays open, two pieces of paper with written words glued on the left side, a white flower on the right. The writing is different and the words are different, but the meanings are the same.

Thank you.

( _I love you._ )


End file.
